Mending A Broken Heart
by Lissanrose
Summary: Rose and Mason are engaged. An icy crash kills Mason and breaks Rose's heart. Will a deathbed promise and a mysterious, handsome new stranger be enough to mend her broken heart. Please R&R. Idea from NellyRose1994.
1. Broken

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. I dot own VA or its characters. The idea for this story belongs to NellyRose1994. Thanks.**

Chapter 1

Rose POV

"Mase, you better hurry up or we are going to be late for our own rehearsal dinner. I am not having Liss jump down my throat because you made us late." I yelled up the stairs as I came back in the house from starting the car. I loved this man to death but I swear he will be late to his own funeral. Ususally I'm the one that's late but not with him around.

"I'm coming Rose, Chill out Babe. We will get there on time, besides they can't start without the guests of honor now can they?" He said coming down the stairs with that boyish grin that made me melt. We were childhood friends and eventually became high school sweethearts. Now, at nineteen I was engaged to the most wonderful guy on the planet (of course I might be a little biased). We were running late for our rehearsal dinner and I knew Lissa was having kittens right now, furious that we weren't on time. Of course she would blame me.

Mase kissed my cheek and held the door for me as we left the house. I locked the door quickly and he hopped in the driver seat. I hated the snow and ice, but we had decided on a Christmas wedding for some reason and the snow gave us beautiful scenery for our wedding pictures. The snow and ice had melted a little last night and refroze, making the roads a little difficult to navigate so I felt bad for rushing Mase. He was a good driver but I think that the time constraints were getting to him as he started to travel faster down the Montana backroads.

"Mase slow down a little. We want to get there on time I know, but I'd like to get there in one piece." I said. He laughed at me.

"Is little Rosie scared?" He asked and I growled playfully at him. He was absolutely the only one besides Liss I ever allowed to call me Rosie.

"No Mase but the ice refroze this morning so we have to be a little more careful." I reminded him.

"Alright Babe I get it." He said and he stopped at the red light. The roads were a lot cleared the closer we got into town and I was thankful for that.

We arrived about fifteen minutes late and I knew if it wasn't freezing outside, Liss would be here waiting for us and tapping her foot at our tardiness. I smiled at the thought and we walked into the building. Of course Lissa was the first to spot us and rushed over with a exasperated and furious expression on her face.

"Well it's about time you two got here." She huffed and I smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Liss, somebody took some extra primping time upstairs and we had to navigate the icy roads." I said pointing to Mase. I leaned in to her and whispered. "I think he is secretly turning into a girl based on the time he spent in the bathroom this morning." I said and she laughed and reached out to hug us both.

"Oh well let's get started now that you guys finally decided to show up. Christian is driving me nuts and Adrian has already been a frequent customer to the open bar here." Lissa said and I groaned. I loved Adrian like a brother but he always took his alcohol to the extremes.

The rehearsal dinner went without a hitch after we arrived and we stayed until late in the night. I only had a glass of champagne but Mase didn't have anything since the drive was so treacherous. We said our goodbyes to our friends and guests and when they were all gone, we headed for home. The roads seemed to have gotten worse and we slid a time or two. We went under the green light and I suddenly heard the screech of tires and saw bright headlights coming at us from Mason's side of the car. The car jolted violently on impact and rolled two or three times off the shoulder of the road. When the car stopped I groaned as I tried to move. I looked over to Mason who was in pretty bad shape. I heard someone outside the car and saw small beams of light from what I assumed were flashlights.

Someone pulled me out of the car, wrapping me In a blanket while others tried to get Mason out. They had to pull him out from my side of the car because the driver door was crushed. I heard the sirens of the police and ambulances as they managed to get Mase out of the car. They had a stretcher waiting for him and he was gone in a second. The paramedics loaded me into the other and checked for injuries and we drove to a nearby hospital. Mase had fared much worse in the accident and I was really worried about him. When I was deemed well enough to be released, I asked about Mase. They showed me to the ICU unit and the sight broke my heart. He had so many broken bones and bruises had already formed over most of his body. I walked towards the bed and sat beside him gently grabbing his hand and his eyes opened. He wore a pained smile and the doctors had told me that he may not make it. I was in disbelief of course because he couldn't die. We were getting married in a few days.

"Hey Rosie." He said and I smiled at him with tears in my eyes.

"Hey Mase." I said and he smiled back.

"Rose, I don't think I'm gonna make it out of this one. Please promise me one thing Babe?" He said.

"Anything you want Baby it's yours." I replied. The tears that were threatening before were flowing freely now. I knew what he was doing. He was saying goodbye and I didn't want him to go. I thought back to my thoughts this morning about him being late to his own funeral and I felt that I had somehow unintentionally willed this to happen.

"Find someone to love Rose like you loved me. Don't stay alone all your life. I know I will always be in your heart Rose, but there is enough room in there for someone else after I'm gone. Promise me that you will move on. I don't mean tomorrow, but someday." He said with tears that mirrored my own.

"I promise Mase. I promise." As soon as the last words left my mouth, I heard the steady beep of the heart monitor and my own heart broke into pieces as my future lay dead in the bed beside me.

**Okay what do you guys think so far? Reviews greatly appreciated guys. Should I continue with this?**


	2. You did What?

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or its characters.**

**Had great reviews for this story. Wasn't really planning on updating this so soon but you guys loved it sooo here it goes. Enjoy and please keep the reviews coming.**

Chapter 2

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Damn that alarm, I thought. I hate mornings and I never really got a good night's sleep. I whacked the alarm off and rolled groggily out of bed. Why Liss decided she needed a shopping trip to start this early was beyond me. I stepped unsteadily to the dresser and collected my clothes for the day. I went to the bathroom and completed my morning routine while my heart clenched at the complete silence that had engulfed the house for the last three years. I still remembered that night vividly and as per my morning ritual I cried for my lost love. Everyone around me never mentioned Mase and I was glad of that because it allowed me to avoid the emotional breakdown that followed his name. My friends, Lissa in particular, tried to set me up on all kinds of blind dates and thing, hoping that I would take interest and get out of my slump that I was in since his death. I was mad that instead of celebrating a marriage, I had to mourn his death. Dad had filed a wrongful death suit, granting me the means to sustain my life in the house we once shared, but the one thing I wanted was out of reach to me.

I got out of the shower as the water turned cold and dressed for my day. Not that I really cared, I just wanted to curl up in the bed and forget the world, forget the pain and the memories. My life had remained the same in those three years. Aside from Lissa insisting I go out in public, I stayed home and hid in my sorrows. I knew that I had promised Mase I would move on and be happy, but the rut that started three years ago had just gotten deeper, making it impossible for me to see my way out of it. Mom and Dad suggested grief counseling many times and each time I refused. I couldn't talk about Mase. Thinking about him was hard enough.

We had a beautiful service for Mase and some part of me wanted to crawl into that hole with him. The other part of me remembered my promise to him and I just couldn't bring myself to break that promise by taking my own life. I was breaking it now though so what was the difference really. I made it downstairs and went to the kitchen to have a little bit of breakfast before I headed to Lissa's. My heart hurt every time I saw Liss with Christian because I lost that three years ago. Their happiness was a cruel reminder of what I could have had, but lost way too early. Liss and Christian had gotten married last year and I was happy for them, but it was bittersweet. Being Liss's maid of honor reminded me how close I came to standing in the bride's position with my Mase.

After a very light breakfast, I got in the car and drove over to Lissa's. We were having some girl's day thing while the guys stayed at her place to watch some sports team play. Of course I was the last to arrive, even if I did live closer that all the others. Liss was used to my constant tardiness by now, seeing as getting me out of the house was blessing enough. I was a little surprised that Mia and Eddie were here. Eddie was as close to Mase as I was and he took his passing just as hard as I have. He had recovered pretty well though and he was past the worst part of his grief. I could still see the haunted look in his eyes when I saw him though. I don't think that the others noticed it like I did though, but I knew from personal experience what to look for I guess.

I said my usual hello's to everyone and Lissa, Mia, Jill and I went off to the mall for day of hell and heels as I called it. Lissa drove her SUV so we had plenty of room for our(or their) purchases and we all piled in. We made it to the mall in what I thought was record time but Mia and Liss complained that the mall was too far away and it took too long to get there. I rolled my eyes at their complaints and we went to our shopping. I only ever bought just what I needed and Liss bought the rest at my refusal. I had a three bedroom home and one was full of clothes that she had bought I never wore. I didn't dare go into the spare bedroom closet because that was where I had hidden all of the things that reminded me of Mase.

After several hours of shopping I was finished but they weren't. I did manage to get them to stop for lunch though. We went to the food court and passed a little cork board that had special classes and events posted and Liss stopped as one caught her eye. Uh oh, I knew that look. She pulled off a slip of paper from the add and we continued to the food court. I was afraid to ask what she had planned for me now, but I did anyway.

"So Liss, What kind of torture have you picked up information on now?" I asked and she smiled that sly planning smile.

"I got a number so I could sign us up for the community college creative writing classes that are starting next week. I've always wanted to go to those type of classes." She said.

"Liss I don't want to do any creative writing classes. I don't even like the stupid dates that you always send me out on." I said and she smiled again. Uh oh. "Liss please tell me you didn't set me up on another date?" She nodded and I groaned.

"Come on Rose, Jesse is a really nice guy. He is not bad in the looks department either." She pleaded and I put my foot down.

"No Liss. I'm am not going on another one of your stupid blind dates." I said and her smile fell but picked up as she thought of something else.

"Okay Rose. I'll make you a deal." Oh here she goes. "You take these classes with me and I won't set up any more dates. I'll cancel with Jesse too." Damn she had me.

"Fine Liss, I'll go but you better not even try to set me up with another person or I'll take all of the clothes you've ever bought me out into the back yard and have myself a little bonfire at your expense." Her eyes widened in horror at the thought and I smiled.

"Fine, no more dates ever. I promise." Lissa said. I dreaded the idea of taking these classes with her, but the dates were much worse, or so I thought.

**Well what do you guys think so far? I know that there isnt a lot of dialogue here but at least we know how Rose is feeling right? Please R&R. I will try to make the chapters a little longer as we go along, but keep the reviews coming guys. Thanks.**


	3. Class, not a club

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 3

Rose POV

So Lissa had arranged for us to join those stupid creative writing classes and I wanted to scream in protest. However it did get me out of the blind dates she set up constantly over the last year or so. Lissa gave me a letter that told everything we had to bring with us and what to expect. Honestly it didn't sound so bad, but I still didn't really want to go. The first of the classes began with an orientation tonight and I groaned thinking of what crazy outfit Lissa might try to guilt me into wearing. I couldn't believe I was 22 and she was still attempting to make me her own personal Barbie.

Lissa came over and of course pouted about what I was wearing. She gave up after a few minutes and we headed over to the college for orientation. We pulled into the parking lot and followed the directions in the letter, leading us to a small classroom that was already packed with people. The students were mostly female but there was a large showing of males here and I cringed as several looked in our direction. I scanned the room uncomfortably but Liss was having the time of her life. We made our way to the center of the room and Lissa mingled with the other students while I stayed silently by her side, only speaking when necessary. I looked around as Liss talked to others and I swore she could be a politician with how easily she struck up conversation with others. While scanning the room, a tall figure caught my eye. He was a tall man, obviously not from around here but he did have nice features. He was handsome I'll admit, but I was here so I didn't have to be forced into dates and didn't plan on pursuing any relationships while attending these classes.

Dimitri POV

Tonight was the orientation for the creative writing classes that Ivan and I signed up for. Ivan really just agreed to these classes in an attempt to pick up girls. He was always after me to find girls too, but I wasn't really interested. Ivan and I arrived as the other students were mingling together. Most seemed overly excited about these classes and while I was interested in the class, I was subdued compared to many of the students. Ivan and I were on the far side of the room from the door, watching the others as they arrived. There were two girls that came in later who were stark contrasts to each other. There was a tall blonde who seemed to have a bright and bubbly personality and made conversation flow easily around her. Her friend looked like she didn't want to be here, but she was the one who caught my eye the most. She was beautiful but seemed to be troubled by the setting she found herself in. She would stay by her friend's side, scanning the room often. When she would smile at something her friend would say, that smile lit the room. She would look around the room and her eyes passed quickly over the male's in the room, uninterested in the pursuit of them. Her eyes landed on me for several seconds and she turned away quickly. There was a darkness that lingered in her beautiful brown eyes that I recognized. How a woman as beautiful and strong as her be plagued by the darkness of depression. Ivan stood beside me and followed my line of sight to the beautiful young woman and he smiled at me.

"I see that a female has finally caught your eye Dimitri." He stated. "She doesn't look very interested though does she?"

"No Ivan she doesn't. But you know that isn't the reason I am here anyway." I said and he laughed.

Orientation started and the teacher introduced himself and another teacher. As it turned out, there were more students than seats in the class so we would be divided into two separate classes. The forty some odd students were broken into two classes of around twenty students. I was fortunate that the girl I was watching was lumped into the class with Ivan and I. Her friend was put into the other class and I was afraid that she would drop the classes but she finally accepted it with a groan. I heard the teacher call her Rose and my heart skipped a little. She was as beautiful as her name implied and I wanted so badly to speak to her, but felt that approaching her would cause her to retreat further into herself. Through the class I watched her, catching her looking at me a time or two and smiled to myself. Maybe getting to know her won't be so hard after all.

Rose POV

The tall guy that I had noticed earlier was in class with me. I groaned when the class was split in half and Lissa was lumped into the other class, leaving me to the wolves. I heard the teacher call him Dimitri and I liked it. It was obvious to me he wasn't American, but I couldn't place the slight accent he spoke with. I wracked my brain to find the answer. His friend's name was Ivan and then it hit me. Those names were commonly of Russian decent. _Wow tall, dark, handsome, and Russian. _I stopped that thought in its tracks. You are not here to pick up a guy you idiot. I chastised myself and felt like those thoughts somehow betrayed Mase. Still though I caught myself looking over at him several times and he even caught me a time or two. I diverted my attention away from him but there seemed to be a draw towards him I couldn't explain.

Class ended after about an hour and the students all mingled around after getting our first assignment. Before Lissa could find me I had already turned several guys away who had tried to get to know me. After a few minutes I saw Lissa talking adamantly with the guy that I had been watching in class and his friend. I wondered what she was doing, but didn't dare go over there for fear she would somehow conn me into another date. As I was watching her, I wasn't aware that another guy had come over to me. I was aware as he grabbed my wrist to get my attention. I turned on him with speed I didn't know I had and glared at him while he held his hands up in surrender.

"Easy girl. You were kinda spaced out there and I was just wondering if you might be interested in going for coffee and talking about this first assignment?" He asked and I relaxed a little although it did sound like he was asking me on a date. He was kind of attractive but I could smell a minute trace of alcohol on him.

"No thank you. I'm just waiting on my friend and then we are going home." I replied and his smile fell.

"Perhaps some other time then?" He asked. "My name is Ambrose by the way." He stuck his hand out and I took it.

"Perhaps. And I'm Rose." I said and instead of shaking my hand he pulled it up to his lips and kissed it lightly. It felt nice but the pang of guilt I felt for Mase counteracted it.

"Rose," he said. "It fits you perfectly." I groaned internally. Like I hadn't heard that line before, I thought. He left as Lissa approached me and she gave me a curious look but I pulled her quickly out to the car. As we headed off towards home I groaned aloud.

"I thought that was a class not a club. Hell Liss I haven't ever been hit on so much in one night, or my entire life for that matter." I ranted and she just giggled. Giggle? I'm having a crisis and practically a mental break over here and she giggles?

"Relax Rose. Some of those guys are actually pretty nice." She said.

"Nice Liss? Most every guy in there hit on me at least once tonight." I practically yelled. I suddenly had a thought. "Who were those two guys you were talking with? You seemed to be very comfortable with them." I asked.

"Their names are Dimitri and Ivan. Ivan is an older cousin of Jesse or something. Dimitri seems nice too. Let me guess, they are the only two that didn't hit on you tonight." She said with a smirk and I think my mouth fell open. How in the hell did she figure that one.

"Pretty much Liss." I deadpanned.

Dimitri POV

Class was over and all of the students were mingling around getting to know one another and discussing our first assignment. Several minutes later the blond girl that was with Rose earlier came up and introduced herself as Lissa. She was very bubbly but easy to talk to. Through the conversation I found that she had set some blind dates for Rose, one of which was with Jesse, Ivan's younger cousin. She cancelled it because they made some kind of deal about these classes. I wanted to know more about Rose, but I didn't want to push her too hard. I felt a protectiveness of her for some reason and I almost growled aloud when I saw another man had taken her hand and kissed it. Lissa saw me looking away and followed my sight to Rose and smiled. If I was a person to blush, I would be right now.

"Don't push her and give her the space she needs. Three years she has been like this and it won't change in an instant. I've seen her look at you and I believe you two have a connection. Just give her time and don't push." Lissa said smiling sadly as she talked about her friend. I wondered what had made her so depressed and to shy away from guys. I nodded and Lissa went over to Rose. She practically dragged her out of the building and they were gone.

**Alright guys, here is the third chapter so whatcha think? It's a little longer but i promise i'll try to get them a little longer than this soon. Please R&R.**

**Any ideas guys sent them my way. Thanks.**


	4. The assignment

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 4

Rose POV

I sat in my room the following day trying to complete the assignment for tonight's class. Our assignment was something I dreaded. We were told to write an introduction of ourselves and explain what led us to attend these classes. Tonight the classes would be combined for all of us to present and I was already sweating bullets. I didn't know what to write and I didn't want to give too much away either. I called Lissa to come over and help me.

When Lissa got there she told me to lighten up a little. I tried to follow her advice and began with the basics. I didn't really want to talk about Mase but the more I thought about it, the more I began to think that it would help me to fulfill the promise I made to him. Three years was enough time to mourn lost love wasn't it? I mean sure I would always love him, but I needed to detach myself from his memory a little bit so I can move on I thought. I wrote everything down that I was feeling and sighed as I finished. Sure it was a dark description, but every bit of it was true. I showed it to Lissa and she smiled sadly.

"This could help you to move on Rose. I know what you promised Mase and this will help." Lissa encouraged. Several hours later we were arriving at the college for our class and I was very nervous. Liss and I went to the classroom where we were instructed to meet tonight and I sat wringing my hands as the nerves were getting to me. Class started a few minutes later when the teachers walked into the room.

"Okay, our first assignment was to write a short introduction and to explain why you are attending these classes. Tonight we will be hearing your classmates' introductions and presenting your own. I know that this isn't exactly creative writing, but will allow us to get to know everyone a little faster since these classes only run a single semester. Let's begin shall we? Who's first?" The teacher asked and as the first student went up I mostly tuned out. As Dimitri came up I tuned back in wondering why he was here.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov and I am 24 years old. Until several years ago, my friend Ivan and I lived in Russia with my family. My family still lives there and I have three sisters. Ivan roped me into these classes at first but I have found several reasons to stay. I hoped that these classes will help me with my English and Ivan seems to think that it will keep me from being so serious all of the time and in his words 'live a little'." He said and stepped down for the next student. After several more students, I was the only one who hadn't presented and I stood nervously and stumbled to the front of the room. I looked down at the paper in my hands and read what I had written.

"My name is Rosemarie Hathaway but I prefer to go by Rose. I am 22 years old and my best friend is Lissa Dragomir, who dragged me to these classes as opposed to be set up on endless blind dates. She wants me to get over my lost love but I just can't do it. Three years ago I was engaged to the love of my life, my high school sweetheart. Coming home from our rehearsal dinner, another driver slid through a red light casing our car accident. Mase died at the hospital that night and every night in my nightmares. The events of that night play over in my mind all day every day. Lissa sets up dates in an attempt to help me move on, but how can you move on when all you want is to curl up into a ball and die." As I finished I could feel the tears coming down without my permission and I left the room quickly, followed by Lissa. I found the bathroom and curled into the corner. The feeling in my chest was overwhelming and Lissa tried to calm me as darkness clouded my vision. I welcomed it as the pain in my chest ceased with its arrival.

Dimitri POV

As I listened to all of the students give their presentations there was only one I truly wanted to hear. I gave my presentation and there were a few more before Rose. She was the only one that hadn't given her presentation and I listened intently as she began.

"My name is Rosemarie Hathaway but I prefer to go by Rose. I am 22 years old and my best friend is Lissa Dragomir, who dragged me to these classes as opposed to be set up on endless blind dates. She wants me to get over my lost love but I just can't do it. Three years ago I was engaged to the love of my life, my high school sweetheart. Coming home from our rehearsal dinner, another driver slid through a red light casing our car accident. Mase died at the hospital that night and every night in my nightmares. The events of that night play over in my mind all day every day. Lissa sets up dates in an attempt to help me move on, but how can you move on when all you want is to curl up into a ball and die." I could see the tears streaming down her face and wanted so badly to wipe them away and comfort her. This was what caused her depression and her shyness and for the first time, I understood what Lissa had said about giving her the space she needed. She ran out of the room with Lissa right behind her and as the class dismissed I went to check on them. I walked towards the bathroom when I heard Lissa's frantic voice.

"Rose, Rose come on Rose wake up." She shouted and I ran into the girls bathroom toward the sound of her voice.

"Lissa, what's wrong?" I asked but when I saw Rose I knew.

"She blacked out Dimitri. What's wrong with her?" Lissa asked. I was confused because surely this wasn't the first time this had happened.

"She's had an emotional break. She blacked out to stop the emotional pain from manifesting into physical pain. She needs to go to the hospital. I'll go and get Ivan. He's a doctor's student so maybe he can help. Call 911 Lissa and I'll get Ivan." She nodded and pulled out her phone while I rushed back to the classroom to find Ivan. Naturally he was talking to a couple of girls and I pulled him away quickly without any explanation, but when we reached Rose, he knew why I had dragged him away. He knelt down and checked her vital signs and looked up at me.

"She's got good vitals but we need to get her off the cold tile floor. I'll go and talk to the teacher while you carry her back to the classroom. Everybody should be out of there by now." Ivan said and I nodded. He took off back to the class and I picked Rose up as gently as I could. Lissa stayed close to her friend as I carried her down the hall and back to the classroom where the teachers had ushered all of the remaining students out. Neither of the teachers asked what happened so I assumed that Ivan had filled them in.

The paramedic arrived soon after and they put her on the stretcher while she was still out cold. Lissa got in the ambulance after handing me the keys to her car, telling me to bring her car and that Ivan and I should come to the hospital as well. As I got Rose's things and went to Lissa's car, I was worried about Rose and wondered if she would ever recover from her past.

Rose POV

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Ugghhh. I groaned. I wished someone would stop that infernal alarm clock. Wait I didn't set an alarm. Did I? The last thing I remember was being in class and reading my assignment and…shit. I blacked out again. Crap. No one had ever been around me when I had blacked out like this before. Lissa was going to go nuts if she wasn't already. I opened my eyes tentatively and the room was way too bright. I snapped my eyes shut again and groaned. I heard stirring beside me and an unfamiliar scent hit me. What was going on? The light in the roomed dimmed and I heard a voice I recognized from class, but I didn't expect to hear it sitting in a hospital bed.

"Relax Rose. Lissa just stepped out a few minutes ago." That helped me relax a little but the next part certainly didn't. "How many times have you blacked out like that?" Dimitri asked and I groaned internally. Damn I really made one hell of a first impression didn't I?

"None that anyone knows about and I intend to keep it that way." I said flatly. I sure as hell didn't need Lissa freaking out and watching me like a hawk. I still didn't look at him and I heard him sigh.

"Roza please tell me. How many times has this happened to you?" He asked and I almost felt compelled to tell him. Almost. Wait Roza?

"Roza? What the hell is a Roza?" I asked and he chuckled lightly. The sound was beautiful and I knew I wanted to hear more of it.

"Roza is your name Rose in Russian." He said and I secretly loved the sound of my name on his lips. What the… wait I shouldn't be thinking like this. What's wrong with me? "Now how many times has that happened to you Roza?" Damn there it was again. I sighed.

"I can't tell you Dimitri…" I didn't get to finish as he cut me off.

"What do you mean you can't Roza? Why not?" He asked and I sighed in defeat.

"Because I don't know how many times it's happened over the last three years." I answered and he softened a little as I finally turned to look at him. I admired his features closely for the first time. He was very handsome, brown hair and deep brown pools formed his eyes. His accent has an edge to it, giving it a sexy quality that I really liked and…damn here I go again. I headed that thought off but blushed as I found that I was still staring at Dimitri. Awkward much? Thankfully Lissa came in to save me and wrapped me in a tight but careful hug.

"Rose you scared the Hell out of me!" Lissa said rather loudly and I cringed a little. Great now I need someone to save me from Liss, I thought.

"You weren't supposed to ever see that Liss." I whispered. Dimitri left the room to give us some privacy and Lissa took the seat he vacated.

"Rose why didn't you tell me this was happening? You could have really gotten hurt if no one is around when these things happen. Has this been going on since the accident?" She asked and I nodded. "Rose that could have been an issue from the accident and it was dangerous to keep this to yourself. Promise me that you will tell someone if this happens or is about to happen again." She said and I could tell she wasn't trying to get me mad or anything. She was genuinely concerned for my health.

"I promise Liss." I said and she hugged me again. When she pulled away she wore a smile. Uh oh here it comes, I thought.

"Sooo Rose what did you and Dimitri talk about?" She asked smiling and I groaned. I was really hoping someone would come and save me from this awkward conversation right now. Thankfully the doctor strolled in before I had to answer her. I knew he was about to lecture me as the others did. I cut him off before he even started.

"Yeah I get it. I've already been told by several people that I should have let people know I was blacking out and I will do just that in the future. Now can I please get out of here?" I said and the doctor was shocked but recovered quickly.

"Of course Miss Hathaway. I have given you a prescription to help with the depression you seem to be experiencing and I highly recommend that you seek some kind of grief counseling. You shouldn't be experiencing symptoms like this from emotional trauma three years ago, but I imagine that your inaction has made it slightly worse." He said and I groaned internally. I vaguely wondered if there was anyone who could save me from the annoying doctor too. I was released and Lissa drove me home. I was somewhat surprised that Christian was at my home when we got there. But of course Lissa would invite herself to stay at my house and keep me from some emotional breakdown I thought. I am so screwed.

**Whatcha think ladies and gents? The chapters are getting longer as promised but getting a little harder to write. Please R&R. This story is totally growing on me.;)**


	5. What the Hell?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 5

Rose POV

Over the next several weeks I did feel a little better. Lissa urged me to get out of the house once a week aside for the writing classes and we actually had a good time. Lissa was sometimes a little annoying and had practically taken over my house, but I knew she was only trying to help me get better. For some strange reason I began to look forward to seeing Dimitri in class and often thought about seeing more of him. Thankfully most of the class didn't know about my blackout and trip to the hospital so that was fortunate. Dimitri and I became a little closer and I found it much easier to be around him. I was still shying away from other guys but he was helping a great deal.

I wasn't sure what this connection was that we had with one another, but the more time I spent around Dimitri, the easier it was to deal with the memories of Mason's death that plagued me. One night after class I was talking to him and he seemed really nervous about something.

"Dimitri, are you okay you seem a little nervous?" I asked and he smiled slightly.

"Yes Roza, I'm fine. I wanted to ask you something but I thought it may be a little too soon." He explained. What was it he wanted to ask me? He ran his long fingers through his hair nervously.

"Go ahead Dimitri. What is it you wanted to ask me?" I encouraged. I had an idea what he wanted to ask but I didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me Roza?" He finally said and my heart jumped in anticipation. I felt comfortable around him and I had an unusual trust for him.

"Of course Dimitri, I would love to." I said and he let out a breath that he was holding in anticipation of my answer. We smiled at one another and we walked out of class together. Lissa was talking to other students and I stood at the car with Dimitri while I waited on her to finish talking. We talked about where we might go and when. By the time Lissa came over to the car, we agreed to meet tomorrow night and he would pick me up at my home at seven. I was going on a date and I was surprisingly excited. Lissa drove back to my house and she started her interrogation as per her usual.

"So what did you and Dimitri talk about?" Lissa asked and I smiled.

"Well, Dimitri and I are going to dinner tomorrow night." I said watching her reaction closely. She did something I never expected. She slammed on the breaks and the car swerved to a stop. Luckily there wasn't anyone behind us but it scared the hell out of me. When the car came to a stop, I slammed my hand on the dash in frustration. "Did you somehow forget Liss that I was involved in a car accident that killed my fiancé three years ago? Jesus Liss." I screamed. I knew that I was overreacting a little but I didn't care at that point. Everything came rushing back to me and I sat in the passenger seat trying to calm myself before I blacked out. Damn why do these things always happen to me. I could hear Lissa saying something but I wasn't sure to who or what she was saying. Lissa drove to what I assumed was my house and someone opened my door as darkness took me.

Dimitri POV

I was riding home with Ivan after our class and I told him about my date with Roza. He was really supportive of the relationship but was concerned for Rose and her health. I was concerned for her too. In fact, I had a strange connection to her and I felt as if I was compelled to protect her from everything bad in the world. I didn't know if I loved her, but the connection we had was special and it seemed to get stronger the more time we spent with one another. We were almost home when my phone rang. I was surprised to see that it was Lissa calling.

"Hello." I answered.

"DImitri I need you over at the house right now. I did something really stupid driving home and Rose is about to black out again. I tried to calm her and she's trying to calm herself, but it isn't working so well." Lissa blurted out in one breath. Thankfully Ivan heard most of it and changed our course over to Roza's home.

"It's okay Lissa. Stay calm and we are on our way there now." I told Lissa and hung up just as we approached the house. I saw them pull into the driveway and I jumped out of the car and ran towards theirs. As soon as I opened the door to her side of the car, she blacked out. I pulled her from the car and followed Lissa into the house with Ivan. Lissa's boyfriend saw Roza in my arms and knew that she had blacked out. Lissa showed me to Roza's room and I placed her in her bed. She would probably sleep for a few hours now. I wondered what Lissa had done that brought this on for Roza. After I pulled off her shoes and tucked her into bed, I kissed her forehead and went back downstairs to get more information. When I got back downstairs, there were other people at the home I didn't know. Lissa introduced everyone and Ivan turned to Lissa, asking the one question I had wanted to hear answered.

"Lissa, what did you do in the car that caused her to react like that?" Ivan asked and Lissa looked like she was about to cry. Christian wrapped an arm around her in confort.

"I asked her what she and Dimitri were talking about tonight and she told me about her having a dinner date tomorrow. I was so shocked I slammed on the brakes and the car swerved a little bit. She yelled at me and then she was trying to calm herself like she did the last time this happened at the school. I didn't think about that triggering something like this from her." Lissa replied in tears at the end of her statement. I was a little angry at Lissa for not thinking about how her actions might be interpreted by Roza.

"The car swerving is probably what triggered the memories. I know you didn't do it on purpose Lissa, but you have to be careful with things like that. I don't know if this has set her recovery back or not, but we all need to be careful around her, especially while driving anywhere with her. We will see what kind of damage is done when she wakes up." Ivan said.

We all took a seat downstairs in the large living room and waited to see if Roza will have more problems from this. I really wanted to take her out tomorrow, but only if she was really up to it. About an hour and a half later, I heard stirring from upstairs and Lissa, Ivan and I went upstairs to check on Roza. Roza was sitting upright in the bed when we entered and she looked at Ivan and I curiously. I had forgotten that she had blacked out before she knew that we were here. Lissa went over to the bed and hugged her tightly. Lissa started to cry again and Roza soothed her.

"Rose I am so sorry. I honestly didn't think about it when I did that. I didn't think about you having that kind of reaction and it bringing up those memories with it. Please forgive me Rose." Lissa cried hard while hugging Roza and I could see that she honestly didn't expect her to have that kind of reaction. Roza smiled sadly while looking down at Lissa.

"It's okay Liss. Honestly I overreacted a little bit and I didn't mean to yell at you. The memories are always there in the back of my mind and sometimes certain things bring them back to the front of my mind. This hasn't been easy for any of us Liss and I don't expect that it ever will be, but having you here with me and as my friend is helping. I forgive you but honestly there isn't anything to forgive." She said and I smiled slightly at the pair. They were really good friends and they helped each other. Ivan stepped up to the pair and checked Roza's vital signs, just to be sure there was nothing else wrong. After she was checked out by Ivan and given the all clear, Ivan and Lissa went back downstairs so that I could talk to her alone for a few minutes.

"Roza, I wanted you to know that if you feel uncomfortable about going out tomorrow night….." I wanted to say more but Roza cut me off.

"No Dimitri, I want to go tomorrow like we planned. I understand your concern but I'm fine and I can't let this halt my life any more than it already has." She said and I smiled at her. She has been getting a lot stronger than when I first met her and I was proud of her resolve. She has had a few small setbacks, but I hoped that there was a light at the end of the tunnel for her soon. I kissed her forehead lightly.

"I have to go home Roza, but I will see you tomorrow before our dinner." I said and she nodded. I turned for the door when she called to me and I turned back to her.

"Thank you for your help tonight Dimitri. Granted I didn't know you were here for most of it, but you've helped more than you know." She said and I smiled at her.

"It's no problem Roza. Call me anytime you need me." I said and left the room, heading downstairs to find Ivan. We left the house and headed to our own. Ivan dropped me off at my small apartment and I went to shower and go to bed. As I lay there begging for sleep, it wouldn't come. I thought about the relationship between Roza and I. It wasn't what most would consider a normal dating relationship, of course we hadn't even been on a date yet, but I had a special connection to her that I never had with anyone else. I looked at the clock and it was about one AM here in Montana so that meant that it was 2 PM in Baia. I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to call my family in Russia. I dialed the all too familiar number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello." Mama said in Russian. I smiled at hearing her voice. **(AN: Since I don't know Russian let's just say that their conversation takes place in Russian but I'll write it in English.)**

"Mama." I said and I heard a small gasp over the phone.

"Dimka?" She asked in disbelief. "I haven't heard from you in so long we were starting to worry about you. How are you and Ivan doing?" She asked. Ivan was more like a son to her than a friend of mine.

"We are fine mama. I couldn't sleep because things have been…weird lately, so I thought I would call and see how you all were doing." I said.

"What's going on Dimka? There is something that you are not telling me." Mama said sternly and I knew she had me pegged.

"I met someone and we are going out tomorrow night. She has some issues to work out but we are taking it very slow for her sake." I said and it was true. I didn't want to push her to fast. "She was engaged three years ago and her fiance died in a car accident coming home from their rehearsal dinner. She is still coping with the loss but she is slowly getting better. She has had blackout over the years from the emotional trauma and has had two blackouts since I have known her. She had one tonight but she is fine now." I said.

"Poor dear. Be careful with her Dimka. I can tell that you care for her very much but give her the support and space she needs. I'm glad that you have taken a liking to someone besides that awful Tasha." I was shocked. Mama never spoke ill of anyone and to do so now says that she really didn't like her. Tasha was a friend from Russia and was very flirty with me all the time. I never had a relationship with her, but I knew that was what she wanted.

"I will Mama. Maybe one day you will get to meet her. She is really amazing Mama and has a heart of gold. I got to go Mama but I will talk to you all really soon." I said.

"Okay Dimka. Don't be a stranger and don't take so long to call the next time." She said and I smiled.

"Alright Mama. Love you all. Bye." I said.

"Bye Dimka." She said and I hung up the phone. Knowing that Mama was pleased was the little bit of comfort I needed to drift off to sleep. As I dozed, a thought crossed my mind. I was falling in Love with Roza.


	6. What gives?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 6

Rose POV

I drifted back to sleep not long after Dimitri left last night and I woke the next morning feeling surprisingly relaxed and rested. I had noticed that I often felt lighter and a lot more free from the memories of the past when I was around Dimitri and for some strange reason, the comforting feeling he normally gave me lingered this morning. I got up and into the shower quickly, letting the warm water relax any muscles that were still a little tense. After a relatively quick shower, I dressed quickly and made my way downstairs. I knew that Lissa and Christian were here but I was surprised to see Mia, Jill, Adrian and Eddie here also. Apparently they had stayed here last night after my minor breakdown.

"How are you feeling this morning Rose?" Lissa asked and the others looked at me expectantly while I smiled in response to her question.

"I feel pretty good Liss. I slept better last night than I have in a long time." I answered and she smiled brightly at me, honestly pleased that I was feeling so much better.

"That's the best news I think I have heard from you in a while Rose." Lissa said. I smiled and turned to the others that were also in the house.

"Thanks guys for coming to see about me last night. Mia, Lissa, Jill, I need your help tonight to get ready for my dinner with Dimitri." I said and they all widened their eyes a little. The guys weren't as happy about it as the girls were, but that was only because they were being the overprotective brothers that they deemed themselves to be. The best thing was they didn't try to force my decisions on things like this and they were actually happy that I was trying to leave my past behind me. My insecurities had stopped my life for too long and I was finally ready to try and move on.

"Really Rose?" Mia squealed and I laughed at her enthusiasm. The whole room froze for a second and I wasn't sure why. Then I thought about it. Laughing felt foreign to me and now I knew why they froze.

"Rose, that's the first time I've heard you laugh in over three years." Eddie whispered and I smiled at him. I knew he was thinking about Mason. As I thought his name my mood plummeted a little bit. I remembered that I had made a promise to him that I had yet to keep and that kept me from spiraling into nothingness. I placed a hand on Eddie's shoulder and smiled sadly at him. He was probably the only one of our group that knew just how much pain I was going through with the loss of Mase.

"Eddie, I'm not completely over him yet and I most likely never will be, but I miss him just as much if not more than you do. I made a promise to him and I intend to at least try to keep it. You know as well as I do that Mase would be kicking our asses right now if he saw us moping about like this." I said and he gave a slightly choked laugh and hugged me tightly around my waist. Everyone else was watching us closely and my eyes met Lissa's and she smiled sadly at me. I had taken Mason's passing harder than anyone and of course that was to be expected, but Eddie was his best friend and they were practically brothers. Eddie was a lot like me though, never being one to openly announce their emotions and often kept them hidden from everyone else. I guess that was why Eddie and I always were close after Mason. Eddie pulled back and looked me in the eyes and smiled at me.

"Thanks Rose, I needed that." He said and then laughed slightly. "I thought that we were all here to help you Rose, not the other way around." He raised his eyebrow slightly and I laughed. It felt foreign still but I liked it and wanted the opportunity to laugh even more.

"You guys help me just by being here and keeping me grounded. If I hadn't had you guys for the past three years, I would probably have died right after Mase." I said honestly. They were a little shocked with my bluntness but didn't comment on it. I decided that I needed to change the subject so I turned to Christian and smiled evilly. "So Christian, I see that you haven't burned my house to a crisp yet." I said but then I caught a whiff of something in the air. "But you are doing a stellar job of burning my breakfast." I smiled as his eyes widened and he finally caught the scent of our breakfast burning in the kitchen. He ran to the kitchen like his ass was what was burning and I couldn't help it, I doubled over in laughter while the others joined me with their own laughter. Christian was a great cook when he was focused, but he sometimes had trouble in the multitasking department and that often resulted in burnt food. One time shortly after he moved in with Liss, he totally forgot her birthday cake in the oven and when she got home, the kitchen was filled with smoke. When we finally calmed our laughter, Christian wore a frustrated expression and I felt a little sorry for laughing at his expense.

After we finally had breakfast, the boys were around the house doing their own things while the girls and I went upstairs to prepare some things for tonight. We looked through my closet and I realized that there was nothing in there that I really thought was appropriate for dinner tonight. With that thought in mind, we girls headed off to the mall and left the guys to their own devices. Poor Christian, I couldn't resist as we went out the door I had to say what was on my mind.

"We're going to the mall guys. Christian, for the love of god don't burn down my house." I said smiling as the rest of us were snickering at the dejected look on his face. We piled into the car and headed out to the mall. After the events of last night, I would have to say that I was a little nervous about getting in the car with Lissa again but I did manage to overcome my slight fear and we finally made it to the mall with no problems. As we went into the mall, my heart clenched at the decorations that all the stores were putting up for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Mase and I were to be married on Christmas Eve that three years ago and after his death, I spent that Christmas alone and crying. Since then I still haven't had the heart to celebrate Christmas without my Mase. I thought that this year might be different and I smiled at the idea that came to my mind and I turned to Lissa. Christmas was about three weeks from now, so we would have ample time to prepare. I knew that Lissa would be thrilled at the idea floating in my mind.

"So Liss," I said as we were looking at the racks of dresses. "What are our plans for Christmas this year?" I asked and her eyes lit up. She was already on board and I knew it.

"What are you thinking Rose?" She asked with a sly smile, one that I returned.

"I was thinking about a little party on Christmas Eve. Nothing really fancy you know, just our friends and maybe mom and dad and a few others." I said.

"I love it Rose." She said and her smile fell just a little bit. "I know that it's a hard time of year for you Rose. Are you absolutely sure that this is what you want?" She asked.

"Yes Liss. I need to finally try to dig myself out of the rut I've been in for three years. I know I have been a little hard to deal with and I'm sorry for that. I was just drowning in the past and what I had lost, not realizing that there was so much in my life that was still there for me." I said and she smiled wider as Mia and Jill came up to us with the perfect dress for me. It was a deep red, long dress that had black accents decorating it in a trail from the right shoulder across to the left hip. It was beautiful, not too fancy for a first dinner date but also not ordinary and bland. I grabbed the dress from Mia and we all made our way to the dressing rooms. The others waited outside while I pulled on the dress quickly, but carefully. I stepped out of the dressing room and their mouths hung open in appreciation of this wonderful dress. That made my mind up for me and as they nodded in approval, I was already turning back to the dressing rooms to change back into my other clothes. I bought the dress quickly and I picked out a pair of heels that would finish the look. As the girls were shopping for a few various things, I did something I hadn't done in three years. I did some shopping for some Christmas gifts. I wanted to get Dimitri something too but I wasn't sure what he would like. There were still three weeks left so that gave me some time to find out what would suit him. I had told the girls that we would all meet at the food court and since I was done with my shopping I made my way over there a little earlier that agreed upon. I ordered myself some food and took out my cell while I waited for the others and I called a number that I almost never called anymore. I called my parents.

"Hello." I heard mom answer and I smiled a little. She would definitely be surprised.

"Hey Mom." I said plainly and the line was silent for a second. She regained her voice and freaked out a little, thinking there was something wrong.

"What is it honey, what's wrong?" She said frantically and I heard Dad in the background. I groaned internally at their overreaction.

"Mom, I'm fine. Nothing is wrong, in fact things are getting much better lately. I actually called to see if you guys had plans for Christmas." I said and the line was silent again before I heard a slight sigh of relief on their end of the line.

"We planned to stay home for Christmas day, but other than that there hasn't been anything set in stone. Why do you ask Rose?" I smiled. Here it goes and I hope she doesn't faint at the sudden changes that I have experienced with my emotional behavior.

"Well, I kind of talked to Liss about having a little Christmas party on Christmas Eve for family and close friends. Lissa is all for it, but I wanted to see how many guests we might be expecting." I explained and then asked if they would come. Mom and Dad were both excited at the idea of me being a little more outgoing during this particular time of year. I hung up with Mom as the others came to the table to meet me at the food court. They looked at the many bags I had sitting beside me and their eyes widened. I had never bought that much stuff without it being bought for me.

"Rose, that is more stuff than I have ever seen you buy. What gives?" Mia asked and I smiled.

"Well Mia, I have to buy some presents for my friends and family to open at the Christmas party." I said straight faced, waiting for their minds to process the words their ears heard. Their eyes widened and I smirked along with Lissa. "Yes you both heard correctly. Liss and I agreed to have a Christmas party this year and I already called my parents and they are coming too." We talked about the Christmas party right through lunch as we ate and we left the mall soon after to get ready for my dinner date tonight. For the first time in years, I was enjoying the company of my friends and was filled with nervous anticipation for my date with Dimitri.

Dimitri POV

As the day dragged on, I waited nervously for tonight when I would see Roza again for our dinner date. The reservations were made and I had already chosen what I would wear. Ivan was out today with one his many women friends and I groaned at his approach. As the time drew closer for me to go over to pick up Roza, I showered and dressed quickly, fueled by my nervousness. I wanted everything to be perfect and as I headed out the door, I thought about getting her some flowers. I wasn't sure what kind she would like, but I thought that roses were a little cliché. So I decided that I would get her some carnations and I found the perfect ones. These were two toned, deep red with a slightly darker edge to them, making it look almost black around the edges. I purchased the flowers and drove the short distance to her home. The cars in the driveway indicated that her friends hadn't left last night and I was grateful for the comfort they gave her. I rang the bell and Christian answered and ushered me in. He told me that the girls were all upstairs and he yelled up the stairs for them to hurry up.

Minutes later the girls came down without Roza. They looked up the stairs expectantly and I followed their gaze. My mouth hung open in wonder at the sight of the beautiful woman coming down the stairs to meet me. She was beautiful as always, but there was a fire in her eyes that I hadn't seen before. There was still slight nervousness and a little fear there, but she hid it well. Her hair fell loosely in soft ringlets down her back. I had never seen her with her hair down and I was slightly surprised by its length. The dress she was wearing was definitely her dress. It hung perfectly on her every curve and was elegant, yet not too much for a dinner date at the restaurant I had chosen. She was a goddess in my eyes on a bad day, but this was a really good day and there were no words to describe her.

I broke out of my thoughts as she reached the bottom of the stairs and stood just feet away from me. The room was filled with her friends but I didn't see them. I was blinded by her beauty and she was all that I saw at the moment.

"Roza, you look Gorgeous, a goddess on the worst days but there are no words for how you look today." I said and handed her the flowers and she blushed. The rose coloring on her cheeks only added to her beauty. "I thought that roses were a little cliché and I didn't know what flowers you liked so I got these." I rambled a little and she smiled lightly. She asked Lissa to put them in some water for her and Lissa took the carnations into the kitchen with her. We left the house soon after that and we drove to the restaurant that I had the reservations. It was a small Italian restaurant not far from the center of town, but it was the perfect atmosphere. It was small enough that there wouldn't be too many people around to make Roza nervous, but wasn't cramped either.

We made it to the restaurant and the Hostess showed us to our table. I was a little angry that the hostess was trying to flirt with me and I kindly told her that I had a date and wasn't interested. Roza looked at me in surprise but pride shone in her eyes at the way I handled the situation. We ordered after several minutes and Roza and I talked about everything we could think of. I was pleased that she invited me to celebrate Christmas with her and her friends. I was a little nervous about the parents though. We ate dinner and had our glass of wine, still talking about our lives and friends. We were just about to leave when someone approached the table that I had never expected to see.

"Dimka? Is that you?" I groaned internally at the voice I recognized very well.

**OOH! Who do you think it is? If you guys Like, let me know. Please R&R.**


	7. Party Crasher

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 7

"Yes Tasha. What are you doing here?" I asked and Roza was watching the scene play out intently.

"I thought that I would come and visit my nephew." She said and turned to Roza. "Rose." She said flatly, obviously not liking the scene before her.

"Tasha, I didn't know that you were coming. Christian and Liss have been helping me at my place. I suppose that you didn't tell them you were coming either?" Rose said trying to be polite to her.

"No I wanted to surprise them but I guess I'm the one who's surprised. How are you and Mason Rose?" Tasha asked and Roza and I both froze. I stood and looked angrily at Tasha.

"Tasha we have been friends as long as I can remember, but I will not sit by and let you harass Roza. I suggest you leave and find someone else to bother." I said and her mouth hung in shock at my words. Roza was almost trembling and I had to get her out of here and away from Tasha. I flagged down the waiter and handed him cash for our dinner, telling him to keep the change. I took Roza's hand and led her out to my car. I drove straight back to her home. Roza was holding it together, but barely.

I was furious with Tasha. I didn't know that Roza knew her but as I thought about it, I could see the resemblance Tasha had to Christian and I felt like an idiot for not seeing it before. I wasn't sure if Tasha honestly didn't know that Mason had died, or she was just being a bitch, I guessed the latter. How after three years she couldn't know was beyond my comprehension. I knew Tasha was petty and manipulative, but tonight proved I needed to cut all ties with her. Hell I pretty much had seeing as I thought she was still in Russia. I kept talking to Roza and she calmed slightly but Tasha's words had cut through her resolve like a knife. I made it back to her home and carried her in as she cried on my shoulder. I hated to see her like this and I could see that the others wanted an explanation. Roza was sleeping now so I took her upstairs and tucked her in just like I had done the previous night. I kissed her forehead lightly and left her room, heading back downstairs.

"Dimitri what happened tonight?" Lissa asked. Thankfully Lissa and Christian were the only ones here tonight.

"Tasha Happened." I mumbled and ran a hand through my hair nervously.

"What do you mean Tasha happened? Tasha as in my Aunt Tasha?" Christian asked and I nodded.

"Tasha and I have been friends for a long time. I didn't expect her to be here, but she saw us at the restaurant. She always wanted to have a relationship with me but I never agreed to it and only ever saw her as a friend. When she saw us at the restaurant, she asked Roza how she and Mason were." They both gasped in shock and I continued. "I wasn't sure if she knew about his death but I suspected she did since it's been three years, but Rose was so close to a breakdown I had to get her out of there. Tasha is probably jealous of mine and Roza's relationship now." I finished and they sat there with several emotions playing on their faces, the strongest was anger towards Tasha.

"Tasha did know that Mason was gone and she said that out of spite. I can't believe that she would do that. Rose has always been so polite to her and I didn't even know that you knew her." Christian said.

"I don't care if she is your aunt Christian, but she is no longer welcome in my home." I turned to the voice and saw Roza standing at the foot of the stairs. She looked like she was a little better but I still saw the haunted look in her eyes. I stood and went to her.

"Roza I am so sorry that happened. I had no idea that Tasha was even here in the US. She always wanted a relationship but I could never see her as more than a friend. I can't be friends with her anymore though and I can't stand the thought of her hurting you." I said and Roza smiled. I was amazed as always how that one gesture could light the room and warm my heart.

"It's okay Dimitri. I know that it wasn't your fault and I never really liked her attitude anyway. No offence Christian." She said and I smiled at her.

"None taken for once Rose. In fact I'm surprised you haven't showed your distaste for her before now. I knew that you didn't really like her that much." Christian said with a smirk. Rose laughed lightly until there was a knock at the door and Roza went to answer it.

Rose POV

I was still reeling a little from Tasha's comment at the restaurant and I knew that she said that out of spite and possible hopes that Dimitri would feel betrayed or jealous. I woke up after my little nap and went downstairs where Lissa, Christian and Dimitri were talking about the events of the night. The mood in the room lightened a little until there was a knock on the front door and I went to answer it, wondering who might be coming here at this hour. I opened the door and I almost growled aloud.

"Hello Rose, I'm here to see Christian. Is he here?" Tasha asked.

"Yes Tasha he is here but you will not set one foot in my house. You are not welcome here, especially after that stunt at the restaurant. Leave now." I practically growled and Tasha stepped closer towards me but still outside the threshold.

"You cannot keep me from seeing my own nephew Rose, and I know that Dimitri is here to and he is a very close friend of mine." She stepped forward again and my anger reached a breaking point. I pushed her hard as she tried to come through my door and she landed flat on her ass.

"Tasha, I will not say it again. Leave my property now. If you want to see Christian, do it somewhere else." By now the others had heard the commotion and I slammed the door hard as she started to get off the ground. I turned to the others fuming with anger towards Tasha. "Damn that woman. Who does she think she is coming here after what she did tonight?" I yelled and Dimitri hugged me to him tightly.

"Roza calm down. Tasha's not here anymore and she won't set foot in this house as long as I have something to say about it." Dimitri said.

"Dimitri's right Rose. I heard you warn her not to come here again and she won't if she knows what's good for her. I'm sorry she is causing you so much trouble Rose." Christian said and I smiled at him. My anger towards Tasha hadn't diminished but I had calmed considerably.

"That's okay Christian. Maybe you guys should go and see her at your place though. I know that isn't the only reason she showed up at my door, but it was a big part of it. I'll be fine here by myself and I've actually gotten a lot better." I told them and I could tell they wanted to stay here, but did understand my point. Lissa and Christian left the house, leaving me and Dimitri alone again.

"Dimitri you can go home you know. You don't have to stay here and keep watch over me." I said and Dimitri sighed.

"Roza I don't want to stay just for that. I want to keep you safe and protected from everything and everyone. I…I love you Roza." Dimitri said and I was sure that I would faint in surprise.

"Really Dimitri?" I asked and he nodded. I wanted so much to say the same, but I just wasn't ready for that step yet. "Dimitri, I…" He cut me off before I could finish.

"I know Roza. You don't have to say it unless you are ready and absolutely sure. I won't push you or make you do something you aren't ready for." He said and I think I sighed in relief a little because he smiled at me slightly. He wasn't hurt that I didn't say I loved him but was supportive in my decisions. I went to bed that night and Dimitri stayed it the room that Lissa and Christian used during their stay. I fell asleep that night wondering to myself if this was someone that I could be falling in love with.

The next morning I awoke to the smell of breakfast and the sound of my bedroom door opening. I sat up not really looking at who opened the door and I was surprised when a small tray was placed in my lap. Dimitri had cooked breakfast for us and brought it upstairs to my room. I inhaled the mouth watering scents of the delicious looking food and looked up at Dimitri. My eyes about popped out of my head because he was clad in only the pair of slacks he wore to dinner last night. His tanned and toned chest was in full view and I think I almost drooled. I was apparently staring at him because he smiled widely while I turned about four shades of red. I was so embarrassed and I couldn't even speak. We ate breakfast in silence, sitting there on my bed. We talked and laughed about different things and I was very comfortable around him.

Tasha stayed in town over the next few weeks and Christian asked me about inviting her to the Christmas party. I suggested that she could come as long as the party wasn't at my home. I'd be dammed if she set foot in my house, so we agreed to have it at Lissa's. I wasn't petty enough to deny Christian the right to spend Christmas Eve with his only living family member and I wasn't mad at him for asking. In fact, Christian asking me about Tasha attending prepared me to face her. I was a little worried that she would be throwing herself at Dimitri, but I was certain that he would stand up to her as he did at the restaurant that night. Lissa and I went with the other girls to get some supplies for the party and we carried them back to Lissa's. After getting to know Dimitri a little better, I also managed to find him the perfect Christmas gift. Lissa and the girls spent the day of the party decorating and I was at my home waiting for my parents to arrive. Dimitri and Ivan also waited with me and they both kept me calm before the party. I was a little nervous as to how this party would turn out. Sure it was my idea, but I hadn't planned on Tasha ruining it for me at the time. About an hour and a half before the party was to start, Mom and Dad arrived at my house. I was upstairs and I came down as Dimitri let them in.

Now there were four pairs of eyes bugged out at my appearance. I looked to see if I might have had some kind of wardrobe malfunction or something but found nothing out of place. I was wearing a sleek, long sleeved dress that was floor length. It had a steep neckline and was a deep emerald green with rose colored accents. My hair was down in soft waves behind me.

"Uh, why is everyone staring at me like that?" I asked to no one in particular and Dimitri walked up to me and answered with a breathtaking smile.

"Roza, you are as gorgeous as ever. I've seen you like this for our dinner date, but it still takes my breath away." He said and I blushed a little. Mom and Dad finally broke out of their stupor and came over to hug me tightly. After introductions were made, Ivan and Dimitri helped load the remaining gifts into their car and I rode with Mom and Dad to Lissa's. Lissa's mom, dad and her brother Andre were going to be there too. I hadn't seen them in years and neither had Lissa. Andre was about two years older than us so he was about Dimitri's age. It didn't take but a few minutes and we were all there at Lissa's.

The party started and everything went pretty well for several hours. Soon it was time for us to open the presents and there was a huge stack under the tree in Lissa's living room. Each person passed out their presents to their new owners and I was amazed at how many I had at the end of it. When they were all passed out, we opened them. I got an IPOD from Lissa and Christian, a beautiful dress and a gift card from Mia and Eddie who were now a couple. From Adrian I got a bottle of my favorite perfume, mom and dad gave me a laptop computer. Tasha actually got me a gift card and Dimitri got me a beautiful gold and silver intertwined bracelet. Lissa's parents and Andre got me a gift card for song downloads. I watched carefully as Dimitri opened my present and his eyes lit up. I had gotten him one of those leather dusters that I knew he wanted and the newest western novel known to man. He leaned over and kissed my cheek and I smiled at him. Lissa went over to the tree and noticed one more present there.

"Liss, who's is that?" I asked and shock registered in her eyes as she read the name. I recognized the paper as the same one Tasha had wrapped her gifts in. Lissa looked at me warily and I asked her again.

"Mason." She whispered. I was furious at Tasha for the stunt at the restaurant, but now I was livid.

"Hand it to me Liss." I ordered and she complied quickly. I tore open the paper and opened the box. Inside there was a withered red rose and a piece of paper. I read what was written on the paper and I wanted to kill Tasha in that moment. The paper was a piece of newspaper that reported the accident three years ago and the death of mason. The top of the article showed a picture taken of me and Mason from the rehearsal dinner and I could feel the hot tears coming down my face and Dimitri wrapped his arm around me.

"Aunt Tasha please tell me that you didn't do this." Christian said. Tasha smirked triumphantly and I wanted to deck her.

"I did." She said smugly. "I wanted Rose to know that Dimitri is mine and off limits to her." She said and I snapped.

"Really Tasha, if that were the case he would be sitting beside you. His arm wrapped around you. Do you really think that a dead rose and a newspaper clipping will stop me or him from doing as we please? You never had him Tasha and never will. Bringing my dead fiancé into this isn't going to get you what you want." I yelled. "If he was yours then why does he look disgusted with you right now?"

"He loves me. He just hasn't realized it. Why not be with me instead of a whore like you?" Tasha yelled back and I stood. There were quick intakes of breath throughout the room and I walk towards her.

"Know this Tasha. I only agreed to let you attend because of Christian and even though this is their house, we had an agreement. If you showed your ass I get to throw you out of here. I really hate to do that on Christmas Eve, but I won't lose sleep over it. This is me keeping that agreement. You have worn out your welcome Tasha, get the fuck out!" I said with as much venom as I could and she had the nerve to look scared for a minute. She tried to punch me and I ducked. I sent an uppercut to her jaw and effectively knocked her out. I shook my hand out for a minute as she was passed out cold on the floor. "Damn I've wanted to do that since the restaurant episode." I said and turned to the others in the room.

"I'm sorry you guys. She just pushed too far this time." I said and Christian laughed along with the other guys. The girls were still a little shocked at my actions. The parents were looking at me strangely.

"Honestly Rose I'm surprised you held on that long. What was the restaurant thing you were talking about?" Eddie asked and I groaned and turned to Dimitri. He explained it to the others and my anger slowly subsided. The others were shocked to hear how she treated me since she arrived several weeks ago. Tasha was moved from the floor over to the couch as everyone got ready to go home for the night. We loaded our gifts we received into the car and Mom and dad drove me back home and Dimitri followed with Ivan in their car. When we got back to my place, I said my goodbyes to mom and dad and Dimitri helped me get things into the house. I went upstairs after everything was unloaded. Dimitri and Ivan were staying the night since it was already late and I welcomed the company. I was walking past the spare room that contained the closet full of Mason's things and tears filled my eyes. I sucked it up and walked into the spare room and straight to the closet I constantly avoided.

I opened the closet and sank down to my knees slowly. Tears fell silently and of their own accord and I looked at the items in the closet. I had kept everything. Most of the items were Mason's clothes but there were also unopened gifts from Mason and to him. I picked up the first package addressed to me and opened it. I laughed at what was inside. There was a picture that was framed of me and Mason, taken during one of our little outings. Mase had decided it would be a good idea to ride a mechanical bull at the local fair and I was scared to death for him. He had a picture taken with him on the bull and me sitting up there with him. Of course he stayed on about a second and fell flat on his ass. I set the picture aside and opened the next one. That one was a bottle of perfume and a pair of delicate earrings. I went to the next and it was one I had wrapped for Mase. I laughed when I saw what it was. I had bought him a cookbook because he always burned the food he cooked, even in the microwave. The next was a video game that he begged for weeks for me to let him buy. He didn't know I had already bought it.

In the back of the closet was a box that revealed all the pictures I had packed away. Some were of just me and Mase, but there were others that showed our friends. I was crying hard when I felt two strong arms come around me in comfort and I heard soft whispers in what sounded like Russian. My chest hurt from the intense emotions but it wasn't like before. This was me accepting his death and finally, whole-heartedly moving on.

**I hope you guys like this as much as i liked writing it. You guys guessed it, it was Tasha but dont worry. She got hers didn't she?(cue evil laugh here) Thanks guys and keep up the reviews.**


	8. Moving On

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 8

Dimitri POV

I was furious with what Tasha had done at the party tonight and I was proud of Roza for standing up for herself. I never expected for her to knock Tasha out cold with one punch but it was more or less what she deserved. Ivan and I agreed to stay the night at her place and after we unpack the things out of the car, she went upstairs. Ivan sat on the couch and smiled at me.

"You love her don't you Dimitri?" He asked with a full smile and I nodded.

"Yeah Ivan, more that anyone will ever know." I answered.

"I have to say that when she opened that last present addressed to Mason that she would crack, but she held it together rather well. I have never seen anyone stand up to Tasha like that." Ivan laughed at the memory of her being knocked out cold. "She is a strong person and you better hold onto her man." He said.

"I plan to Ivan. I'll be right back. I'm going to check on her real quick." I said and Ivan nodded. I walked upstairs and hear rustling in one of the spare rooms. I peeked through the open door to see Roza on her knees in front of the closet. I watched carefully and she opened several packages that looked to be old presents. She emitted a choked laugh at the first item and it appeared to be a picture. I watched as she opened three more packages and moved to a larger box in the back of the closet. When she opened it, there were pictures of her and a young man I assumed was Mason. Some of the pictures had just her and the boy and others contained her friends too. She started to cry very hard and I quietly made my way towards her. I knew exactly what she was doing. After three years of pain and anguish, she was finally letting go of Mason and trying to move on. She cried herself out as I whispered comfort to her in Russian. I knew that she had no idea what I said, but my voice was comforting to her. She fell asleep in my arms and I carried her to her room. I tucked her into her bed as before and kissed her forehead softly before leaving her room and heading back downstairs. Ivan was there waiting for me with a concerned look and I sighed.

"Rose was having a little moment upstairs. I think she's finally letting go of her past." I explained and Ivan smiled a little but there was still concern there.

"What happened man?" He asked.

"I went to check on her and she was in that guest room that she hardly goes into. She was looking at some of Mason's things and opened the presents from three years ago. She broke down and I comforted her while she cried herself to sleep." I finished with a sigh.

"I know it hurts to see her like that man but I think that was just the closure she needed." Ivan said and I smiled.

"I know Ivan. She is getting better but it will still take some time for her to fully recover." I said and he nodded. Ivan took the spare room and I took the couch. I didn't want Roza to freak out if she came down here in the middle of the night. I tried for a while to get sleep but it didn't come for me. Since it was daytime in Russia, I decided to call Mama and check in on the family.

**(AN: phone conversation in Russian again guys.)**

"Hello" Mama answered.

"Merry Christmas Mama." I said.

"Dimka? I am so glad that you called son. How are you and that girl that you were talking to?" I laughed. She always wanted me to find a nice girl and settle down.

"Fine Mama, we've had a few bumps in the road here and there, but she is getting stronger and dealing with her grief a little better each day. Ironically, she is friends with Tasha's nephew Christian." I explained.

"Dimka, is Tasha there in the US? What did she do?" She said and I smiled. She always knew when something was up.

"It's okay Mama. She showed up at the restaurant the night we had our first date and was so unhappy with Roza and I being there together that she asked Roza how her and Mason were doing. She knew he was gone from her life but wanted to see her in pain. I told Tasha off but she tried to come over to Roza's house to see her nephew that same night and Roza told her to go away. Today at the Christmas party was the worst though." I explained.

"What happened Dimka?" She asked. She sounded a little mad towards Tasha already and I wondered how she would react to today's events.

"Tasha wrapped a box and put Mason's name on it. When it was found, Roza opened it and there was a withered rose and a newspaper clipping of the accident that killed her fiancé three years ago. Roza was in that accident too and she broke down for a minute. When Tasha was confronted, she tried to hit Roza but she ducked and knocked Tasha out cold." I said.

"While I don't necessarily condone violence, it wasn't more that she deserved. You have to bring Roza so we can meet her sometime soon Dimka. She must be extraordinary if she had caught your eye." I was so glad she couldn't see me blush over the phone.

"She is Mama. She had been through a lot of heartache, but is the strongest person I have ever known." I said with a smile.

"Well Dimka, I'll let you get some rest son. Be careful with her, her heart is still very fragile." She said.

"I will Mama. I love you all. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Dimka. Call us again soon." She said and we hung up. I finally managed to get comfortable and drifted to sleep.

Rose POV

I woke up in my own bed but I wasn't sure how I got there. I didn't remember going to bed and I surely would have changed clothes first. My mind tried to bring up the memory of last night and it hit me. I was looking at the things I had stashed away in the closet of Mason's and I broke down a little. I expected to feel a little depressed or even still a little fatigued from all the crying I had done, but I didn't. In fact, I felt better than I had felt in a while. I went to shower and I dressed quickly and headed downstairs. I was surprised that I was up this early without complaint and that no one else was. I walked through the living room towards the kitchen and stopped midway. Lying across my couch was Dimitri and I assumed that Ivan was in the spare room. He looked so uncomfortable as he tossed lightly in his sleep. I smiled as an idea came to my mind and I crept up to him silently. I leaned over him and placed a very light kiss on his lips. We hadn't kissed like that before and when our lips met, I felt a tiny spark. He didn't even stir and I frowned a little. I tried again, kissing with just a little more force and his eyes fluttered open. I almost laughed at the shocked expression he wore but he recovered quickly and smiled.

"Good morning sunshine." I said with a laugh and he stretched and groaned a little but still wore a smile.

"Good morning Roza. Merry Christmas." Our lips met once again and I vaguely wondered if this was what I had been missing for the past several years. I smiled against his lips and he also smiled. "So is this my Christmas present?" He asked and I laughed.

"Well you looked so uncomfortable sleeping on my couch I thought I'd give you a little something to make it seem worth it." I said.

"Roza it was worth it even if you hadn't kissed me. I love you and I couldn't leave you last night after everything. I gave Ivan the guest room so that if you got up last night you wouldn't be startled by him sleeping on your couch." He said. I smiled at him and pulled away while he sat up. I went into the kitchen for breakfast and Dimitri stopped me as I was getting out things to prepare breakfast. He chased me out of the kitchen saying he would make breakfast. I laughed at him but went to the couch and pouted for being kicked out of my own kitchen. Ivan came down a few minutes later and smiled at me. After we ate breakfast there was a knock on the door and I went to answer it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of my friends were standing there at my door and I welcomed them inside. I was really surprised when Christian hugged me tightly.

"Rose I'm so sorry for what Aunt Tasha did at the party. I knew that she didn't like the relationship between you and Dimitri, but I did expect her to be an adult about the situation and I was wrong." Christian said.

"Really Christian, it's okay. I kind of expected her to do something, but I couldn't in good conscious deny you the opportunity to spend Christmas with your only family." I said and he smiled. "I really didn't expect her to stoop so low though, but I'm over it."

"Rose, you are in a much better mood than I expected. Did something happen?" Lissa asked and I smiled.

"Yes Lissa but probably not what you are expecting. I did something last night I never had the courage to do before." I said and they all looked at me expectantly. "I went upstairs after we got home and finally went through the 'Mason closet'." Shocked gasps erupted from all of my friends. They knew how much I avoided that room and the closet it contained. "I opened the gifts from him and also what I had wrapped for him. I also went through the pictures as well." I said. Dimitri wrapped an arm around me and I melted to his embrace.

"I'm proud of you Rose. You have come so far in the last few months and I think Dimitri has a great deal to do with that." Lissa said smiling and I caught Dimitri blush a little at her words. We moved on to other topics and we began to talk about what we would do to celebrate New Year's Eve. We decided that we would all celebrate together but we didn't know where or how.

"Dad has that lake house that we could go to and watch the firework show at midnight. We could have a party there as long as it isn't too wild." I said and the others agreed, happy that for the first time in three years I was participating in things with them. I thought of something else while I had them all here and I ran upstairs to the dreaded closet. It was surprisingly easy now and I grabbed two items that were there and returned downstairs. I hid the items behind me and I looked at my friends and smiled sadly.

"There were some things that I had for Mase that I wanted some of you guys to have. Christian, I know that you and Mase often were really close in the amounts of food you burned. I bought this for him but I want you to have it." I handed Christian the cookbook and he smiled slightly. I could tell he was honored to have something of his.

"Thank you Rose." Christian said. I smiled and turned to Eddie.

"Eddie, I know that as his best friend, Mase would have wanted you to have this. He begged me to buy this every time we went somewhere but didn't know I had already gotten it for him." I handed Eddie the game that Mason had begged for and he gave a choked laugh remembering how he had asked for it all the time.

"Thanks Rose. I know that this is your way of letting go and it's okay. He wanted for you to be happy." Eddie said and I hugged him tightly, fighting back my own tears at his words.

"I wanted to see what you guys thought about helping me with getting some things out of the closet. I have no use for his clothing and I thought it might be a good idea to donate some things to charity. I want to keep the pictures and stuff like that of course, but I was thinking about putting a scrapbook together, but I don't think I can do it alone." I said.

"Rose we would be glad to help you with those things. Honestly I think this is just what you need to do to move on from this." Adrian said and I smiled at him while the others nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys. You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for and I'm sorry that you've had to put up with my foul moods and being out of the loop for the past three years. I knew that I wasn't fulfilling the promise I made to Mase, but I just couldn't get out of the rut I dug for myself. Mase would've wanted me to be happy and I wasted three years doing the exact opposite." I said with tears forming in my eyes. My friends comforted me as best they could and Dimitri was also a big help. I still loved Mason of course and I would never forget what we shared, but it was time to honor my promise that I made to him just before his heart stopped and mine broke. Mason was my past and although he will always have a place in my heart, there was just enough room there to allow someone else in too. Could Dimitri be my future?

After the awkward emotional moments we had sitting in the living room, I called dad and he agreed to let us use the lake house for New Year's Eve. He was of course excited at the idea that I wasn't moping around all the time. He never said as much but I knew that he understood what kind of emotional rollercoaster I had been on the past three years. We spent most of the day just enjoying the company of friends and planning different things. We didn't go upstairs and start on the closet. Today I just wanted to hang out and forget everything else. As it began to get dark, Ivan decided to go home to his place and my friends also went back to their homes. I tried to get Dimitri to go home but he wouldn't budge. He stayed in the guest room and I fell asleep that night with the realization that I was falling in love with Dimitri Belikov.


	9. Wait, What?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 9

Rose POV

I was sure that yesterday was turning point in my life. I woke up feeling refreshed and I could smell the hint of breakfast being cooked downstairs, signaling that Dimitri was already awake. I showered and dressed quickly and headed downstairs. The aromas coming from downstairs were unfamiliar to me, but I trusted Dimitri and his exceptional cooking skills. As I walked into the kitchen I was met with a breathtaking sight. Dimitri stood there in front of the stove clad in only a pair of sweat pants and his bare back was turned to me. I was sure that my jaw was on the floor as I took in the golden complexion of his back and I came back to myself finally and I walked towards him. He still hadn't noticed that I had entered the room and I couldn't resist touching him if I tried. My touch alerted him to my presence and his muscles rippled and tensed. He turned around to me and smiled slightly. There was emotion in his eyes that I couldn't place but it vanished quickly. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead lightly. I basked in the feeling of his bare chest underneath my hands and sighed in contentment.

"Good Morning Roza. Did you sleep well?" He asked and I smiled at him. He was of course always concerned for me.

"Yes I did Dimitri, and how about you?" I asked and his smile grew.

"Yes Roza I did." He said. "Come on, breakfast is ready." He sat the plate of food at the table for me and made one for himself. We ate in relative silence and we had just finished when there was a knock on the door. I groaned slightly and stood to answer the door while Dimitri handled the remains of our breakfast. I opened the door to find Lissa and Christian. Liss said that the others were coming over later and I smiled when I thought of how I had such great friends who stuck with me through my severe depression. I almost laughed out loud as Lissa's eyes bulged out as Dimitri ran upstairs to change and she smiled slyly at me. I groaned. For someone who acts so innocent, Liss's mind automatically goes to some of the most embarrassing thoughts first.

"No Liss we haven't gone to those lengths yet. That is the furthest thing from my mind right now." I said and she blushed from having jumped to that conclusion. Although if he continued to walk around my home shirtless, I wondered how long it would take me to break the three year celibacy streak.

Once everyone was here and Dimitri came back down fully clothed, we started to plan our New Year's Eve celebration that would take place at the lake house dad owned. We only had a few days to prepare but Liss was always amazing when it came to planning events in a pinch. I decided that we would tackle the other things I had brought to their attention after the holidays had past and we had more time to focus on them. By the time my friends left that night we had everything set and Liss had roped me into another shopping trip for supplies. Tomorrow we would get everything we needed and head down to the lake house to set everything up. Dimitri left my home to return to his apartment since he didn't have that many clothes here and I felt the loss as soon as he walked out the door. He said that he would come back if I wanted, but I told him to take all the time he needed. I went through the house while he was gone and did some cleaning up. I was just about to go to bed when there was a knock on the door and I wondered who it could be. I had given Dimitri a spare key to let himself in so I walked cautiously to the door and opened it slowly. As I opened the door, the figure standing on the other side barged in, knocking me to the floor. I looked up quickly and I almost growled at the person standing there. Standing over me after bursting through my door, was Tasha.

"Tasha, get the hell out of my house right now!" I ordered. "You have no business here." She smiled and let out an almost sinister laugh and pulled me up from the floor by my shirt.

"Oh dear Rose, you just don't get it do you? I want Dimitri and I will have him. The only thing standing in my way right now is you." She sneered.

"No you don't get it Tasha, if he wanted you, he would have already been with you. No matter how hard you try his affections will never be directed to you." I said and this angered her of course. She threw me across the room and my back hit the table against the wall and I fell to the floor. I looked over to my left and my cell phone had fallen off the table and I managed to shift it behind me without Tasha seeing it. I felt for the numbers on the phone and dialed 911, keeping the phone hidden. I vaguely heard the dispatcher pick up and I spoke to Tasha again.

"Tasha, I'm warning you again. Get the fuck out of my home. You are not welcome here. You bust down my door and throw me across the room, for what? You want Dimitri but he will never be yours and this certainly isn't going to get you brownie points. I won't tell anyone anything if you get the hell out of here right now." I said and I vaguely heard the dispatcher calling out people to my home. Tasha laughed and sauntered towards me like a panther stalking her prey.

"You may have everyone fooled with you little innocent grieving act Rose, but I see right through it. If Mason hadn't died in that car accident, he would have committed suicide just to get away from you." She said and even though I knew it wasn't the truth, her words stung. "Dimitri will be the same way. He will tire of your pathetic act and I will be the one he runs to." I heard sirens in the distance and I took her distraction and lunged at her. I was no longer going to be the weak, broken person that has taken over my body the last three years and I sure as hell wasn't failing on Tasha's account. I swung hard as I could and managed to get a good hit to her nose, breaking it. She also managed a few good hits and on the last swing, she hit me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I noticed a satisfied smile on her face and I looked towards her hand and I saw it. Her hand was covered in blood, my blood. I looked closer and she had picked up the letter opener that had also fallen off the table she threw me into. I looked down at my stomach and saw the blood covering my hands as I tried to keep myself calm. The Police barged through the already open door and tackled Tasha. They had her cuffed and out in seconds but I couldn't worry about that right now. One of the officers noticed the blood and came over to me, catching me as I started to sway. I was keeping conscious, but just barely.

"Ma'am, my name is Officer Mikhail. An ambulance is on the way ma'am. Can you tell me your name?" he asked.

"Rose." I stated and he smiled a little but put added pressure on the wound, causing me to flinch slightly. I looked up as an older woman approached.

"Mikhail the ambulance will be here in just a minute." She then turned to me. "Ma'am can you tell us what happened here tonight?" I told her the events and she smiled slightly at me. "You are very brave Rose, for fighting like that. Is there someone you would like to call or for us to call?" I nodded and gave them the numbers for Lissa and Christian and my parents and finally Dimitri. I wondered what his reaction would be as I was loaded into the ambulance.

Dimitri POV

I didn't want to leave Roza for very long and I worried about her from the minute I lost sight of her. I went back to my apartment quickly and got a few things settled there and I dropped by at Ivan's place for a few minutes. I knocked on his door and he quickly ushered me in.

"Dude I figured that you would be still at Rose's place. What are you doing here Dimitri?" Ivan asked and I smiled slightly thinking about Roza.

"I just thought I would stop by for a minute. I had to go over to my apartment and at least get some more clothes before I stayed at Roza's again." I replied. Ivan was just about to say something when my phone rang.

"Hello." I answered.

"Is this Dimitri Belikov?" The person on the other end asked and I confirmed it. "My name is Investigator Alberta Petrov with the Billings Police Department. I was asked to call you by a Rosemarie Hathaway. She was the victim of an attacker in her home and is on the way to Billings General for treatment." The woman said and I think my heart stopped. Ivan must have seen the horrified expression on my face because he stood quickly from the couch and came over to where I was standing.

"Can you tell me what happened, Investigator Petrov?" I asked and confusion crossed Ivan's face at the conversation.

"Apparently there was a knock at the door and as she opened the door, the suspect burst through and somewhere in the confrontation was thrown against the wall. She was however able to dial 911 and leave the line open so we could track the call and the dispatch has most of the attack on audio recording. She was also unfortunately stabbed in the stomach with a letter opener but it appears to have caused minimal damage." She stated and we hung up. I sighed hard and Ivan was still looking at me with concern.

"What's going on man?" He asked.

"Roza was attacked in her home after I left tonight and she is in the hospital. Come on, I'll explain the rest of what I know on the way." I told him and we practically flew to the hospital which thankfully wasn't very far away. Lissa and Christian were also just arriving and we asked the woman at the desk where Roza was. The woman pointed us in the right direction and we practically ran to the room the woman had indicated. I opened the door to her room carefully and she was sleeping but I could see the pain across her features. She stirred slightly and her eyes fluttered open. She gave us all a pained smile and Ivan went to ask the nurses to give her something for the pain. I went to the side of the bed and grabbed her hand gently, careful not to disturb the needles in the back of her hand.

"Oh Roza, who did this to you?" I asked her and she smirked a little.

"I bet that you can probably guess without much trouble." She said and I was honestly confused. "Tasha wants you bad Dimitri and she tried to eliminate her competition tonight." Wait Tasha did this?

"Rose are you saying that Tasha is the one who did this to you?" Lissa asked horrified and Christian paled a little.

"Yeah. She was the one who broke through my door and stabbed me. The arrested her and took her to jail. Most of the confrontation was recorded by the 911 dispatchers so they have all the evidence they need to keep her away from me for a long time." She said and turned to Christian. "Christian I'm sorry that all this happened between her and I. I never wanted to separate you from your family." Roza said. I smiled at her, always more worried about others than herself. Christian looked as surprised as we all were at her concern for someone else while she was in the hospital.

"Rose, I know this isn't what you wanted and don't worry about me right now. I'll be fine and it's you I worry about." Christian said and the nurse came in to check on Roza. They wanted her to stay overnight just so they could be sure there was no internal bleeding or additional injuries. I stayed at the hospital that night and the following morning Lissa was to bring her home. I went back to her home with Ivan and we cleaned up the mess that had been made during her fight with Tasha. Everything was back in place by the time that Lissa brought Roza home and I was surprised to see that her parents were also trailing behind them. We spent the rest of the day sitting in Roza's living room and talking about various things. Roza's father ordered take out for all of us and he pulled me aside to make sure that I would be staying here at Roza's and I assured him that I would because of my feelings for her. After everyone left that night, we went upstairs for bed and I kissed Roza goodnight.

"Dimitri?" I hear Roza say tiredly and I turned towards her and smiled. She was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Yes Roza?" I said.

"Stay here with me please." She said and patted the spot in the bed next to her. I wanted to so badly but I didn't want to hurt her with her injuries and I told her that, but she insisted. I went downstairs briefly to make sure the house was locked up and all the lights were off. I went back upstairs and stopped briefly at the guest room, but went back to Roza's room as she had insisted. I slowly crawled into bed and made sure I didn't jostle her. I wrapped an arm carefully around her and she surprised me by shifting her body closer to me. I think I had the best night's sleep I ever had in my entire life.


	10. New Year, New Love

**I know that I am horrible for keeping you guys waiting so long for this and I'm really, really sorry. I've been really sick and writing was obviously the last thing on my mind.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 10

Rose POV

New Year's Eve was just around the corner and we were all heading down to the lake house to watch the fireworks. It was a beautiful log cabin that sat near the lake with a long dock that jutted out into the lake at the rear of the property. Dad had bought the cabin several years ago and though it was in good condition, it was seldom ever used.

Dimitri was driving my car with me in the seat beside him while Ivan had claimed the backseat. Lissa and Christian drove in their cars while Eddie had Mia along with Adrian and his new girlfriend Sydney. Each car was packed with various items that we would need during our stay at the lake as well as decorations and refreshments for the party to be held on New Year's Eve. Dimitri broke me out of my thoughts by placing his hand over mine on the center console of the car.

"Are you okay Roza?" Dimitri asked. Ever since the confrontation with Tasha several days ago he was very attentive to my feelings and he had a very protective nature as it pertained to me.

"Yeah Dimitri, I'm fine." I replied. He lifted my hand, keeping his eyes on the road and kissed my hand softly.

We shared a small smile and the car filled with silence, but it was relaxing and in no way awkward. I must have drifted off to sleep because before I knew it I was being shaken slightly out of my sleep. I opened my eyes slightly to see that Dimitri was crouched in the door beside me, shaking my shoulder gently.

"Roza, wake up milaya. We're here." He said softly and I groaned as I stretched, loosening my stiffened body from the long car ride and the impromptu nap I had taken. My stomach was admittedly a little sore still from the injuries sustained by Tasha but all in all I felt pretty good. I gently removed myself from the front seat of the car and went to help unload the cars but Dimitri stopped me, claiming that I wasn't healed enough yet to help with the unpacking. I groaned a little but I soon realized that he was right and he did only have my best interests at heart. I took the key that dad had given me and opened the door to the cabin. It was very spacious and had more than enough room to accommodate all of us. We worked until dark to get things settled and tidy the house just a little. It wasn't what you might call dirty, but there were some areas of the house that were covered in a minute film of dust from the cabin's lack of use. Dimitri made us all dinner and we just spent the next several hours talking amongst ourselves until it was deemed time for us all to retire for the night. Dimitri would be sharing a room with me, not that I minded. His company was now very soothing to my frayed nerves.

The day of New Year's Eve came rather quickly and we were setting things up for the party we were having that night. Dimitri and the other guys had went to town nearby to get some last minute items and us girls started with the decorating. My phone rang several times during that day and I groaned in response. Dad was another one of my constant watch dogs since the incident with Tasha and although he was out of town at the moment, he constantly called to see how I was holding up. I knew that they were all worried about me, but the constant coddling was getting the least bit irritating.

That evening around 10PM we started our little party. We had drinks and things to satisfy our appetites and our thirst as we counted down the time until the new year. I had thought over things that I wanted to change for the upcoming year and it was no surprise to me that I wanted to be closer to Dimitri. Now that I didn't have to worry about Tasha's interference, I wanted for Dimitri and I to get to know each other a little better and try to create a life for ourselves. Another thing was absolutely certain. I wanted to put the pain of losing Mase behind me and finally move on. To do that, I would employ the help of my friends and organize my memories of him and put them somewhere that they would be safe. Sure I would always miss him and there was still a part of me that still yearned for him to be here beside me right now, but the reality that he would never be in my life again was something that I had to accept.

It drew closer to midnight and Dimitri stayed close to my side. With less than a minute left until the new year, Dimitri wrapped me in an embrace and held me close as I said goodbye to the year and all of its pain. I was fortunate to have met Dimitri and I thanked god for sending him to me.

"…five, four, three, two, one. Happy New Year!" The cheer rang through the air as the fireworks shot across the lake. I didn't notice them however because I was slightly busy creating my own fireworks show. Dimitri and I rang in the new year with a long passionate kiss, much more than anything we had shared so far. Of course I wasn't complaining and I reveled in the feel of his lips moving with mine. We finally broke for air and we were both deeply affected by the kiss. We turned to look across the lake and watched the remaining fireworks as they exploded into the sky. Bright flashes of color illuminated the darkness and I looked up towards the gorgeous man standing next to me and wondered how in the world I got so lucky. I was so torn at the moment because there was still a small part of me that wanted to be totally devoted to the memory of Mase, another part that was finally ready to move on with the Russian God standing beside me and an equal part of me that wanted to take this new relationship very, very slow.

I finally decided that I had wasted enough of my life mourning lost love and I was finally time for me to move on with the man beside me. I glanced up as the remaining fireworks died to see that Dimitri was smiling at me and I blushed crimson as he turned towards me.

"Roza, I love you so much." He whispered to me as he pushed an unruly lock of hair behind my ear. I shivered in delight under his touch. It was true that there was a big part of me that wanted him and his touch so badly at the moment, but I tried to keep my sense but it really wasn't easy with such a gorgeous man in front of me.

"Dimitri, I love you too. I want us to be together right here and now, but there are things that I have to come to terms with first. I have to put all of the past behind me." I placed my hand on his chest and leaned towards him as I spoke. "I want to be your 100% and I just can't do that at the moment, but I promise that I can finally say that soon I will be totally devoted to creating new happier memories with you." His small smile turned into an outright bright smile. He seemed to be the happiest man on the planet at that moment and he twirled me around. I squealed in a mixture of surprise and delight and he placed me back on my feet. Before I could react, his lips were firmly placed over mine in a heated kiss. It felt so nice that a low moan escaped my lips and he smiled against them. We finally pulled away from each other and had to catch our breath for a few minutes before rejoining the others.

"So what was your 'New Year's resolution?" I asked with a smirk. He looked over and saw my smirk and laughed outright.

"Well, there is this beautiful woman, gorgeous even I would say. She is kind and understanding and not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. I love her more than I have loved anyone and I want to take the relationship that we have farther." Dimitri said smugly but almost reverently. I smiled and decided that I would play along with his little act.

"Ah so this girl sounds like a keeper. So what's the problem? Does she love you in return?" I asked smiling. "And do I know her?" He smiled again and let out a small laugh.

"Yes I believe that you and this woman are quite close and she is a definite keeper. She just announced that she loved me recently and we both want to go farther in the relationship but she has things that need to be straightened out before she can commit to taking it any farther." He said still playing along.

"No woman I know would be able to resist a hunk of a man like you for long. Give her the little time she needs and she will be able to fully commit when the time comes. That doesn't mean that you guys can't make out like crazy though." I said seriously and he finally lost it. We both burst into laughter and we kissed again. God I wanted him so badly but I couldn't let my resolve crumble into nothing just yet. I fully intended for Dimitri and I to be together long into the future and I needed to let go of some things in order to be free to grab the others.

After a very heated make out session, it was well past one in the morning. I curled beside him in our bed and drifted off to sleep, smiling at my new plan of life and the fact that my resolve in the matter, although a little wobbly, was still fully intact. When we got home, I would get the others to help me organize the pictures and memories of Mase and get the final closure I need to fully commit to Dimitri.

**Again I'm sorry i kept you guys waiting so long and I know this is a little shorter than some of my other chapters but i promise to update again really soon. Thanks so much and don't forget to R&R.**


	11. Letting Go

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 11

Rose POV

I woke the following morning to the most beautiful sight. Dimitri was beside me, draping an arm over my waist, shirtless and gorgeous. I felt a slow smile creep onto my face as I watched this wonderful man sleep and a plan came to me. I tilted my head up to his and planted a slow kiss on his lips and waited for a reaction. I didn't have to wait too long as I felt his arms surround me and his lips moved in sync with my own. He still hadn't opened his eyes but we both smiled and I felt a slight victory as I heard him utter a growling moan and he finally opened his eyes. I kissed him once more before rolling out of the bed to get dressed. I looked over to Dimitri and had to stop the laugh that wanted to come out. He lay there on the bed with a slight pout on his face. I smiled what I hoped was seductively and went to start my morning routines. I felt refreshed after last night's sleep but I knew that the others might not be so easy to awaken. I showered and dressed quickly with Dimitri always close enough that I could call him to me immediately. He was of course very attentive and concerned with my health and wanted to know that my injuries were improving.

I was finally ready for us to leave the room and head toward the kitchen for breakfast and I could hear whispered conversations. As Dimitri and I approached hand in hand, the whispers died.

"Please don't stop on our account." I said sarcastically. Lissa and Christian were in the Kitchen talking to Mia and Eddie. I smiled at them and their shock was apparent. I hadn't unleashed the snarky attitude so much after Mase and I don't think they knew how to act with the change in my personality. Finally Christian smiled broadly. He was always a favorite opponent in the sarcasm battles I used to have with my friends and he seemed genuinely happy that I was finally coming back.

"Ah, ladies and gentlemen the sarcasm queen is back on her throne." He announced and I couldn't hold back my laugh and neither could the others. I rolled my eyes at him as he waved his hand and did a little mock bow. I playfully punched him in the arm and went to fix myself some breakfast.

"She never left her throne but she did take a little sabbatical to get her head right." I said and I could see the gears practically rolling in his mind. I groaned internally, awaiting his witty retort.

"She will never get her head straight don't you know that." He asked smirking and I smirked as well.

"Ah, but we have to all be a little insane to put up with you don't we?" I said and he scoffed playfully.

"You wound me." He said dramatically, placing his hands over his heart. I again rolled my eyes.

"You're about to be wounded for real if you don't shut up." I said growling playfully. Everyone watched our exchange smiling at our immaturity. Lissa giggled, happy to see the real me surface for the first time in years. Christian's face turned really serious and he did something I never expected, he pulled me into a tight hug. I was shocked because Christian never showed his emotions like this before. He held me silently, then whisper into my ear.

"Glad your back sis." He said and I was still in shock when I felt several pair of arms encase me. Lissa, Mia, Eddie and Adrian all surrounded me in a large group hug and I felt whole for the first time in a very long time. I guess sometime during my playful spat with Christian, Adrian had also entered the kitchen. They all pulled away and their expressions mirrored mine. Silent tears hung in their eyes just like the ones in mine and I knew that they had all suffered from my mourning of Mase. We were all brothers and sisters in a since and my pain was theirs. I wiped the tears from my eyes as I felt another pair of arms encase me. They were very familiar and I leaned into Dimitri's chest. The spell of mourning that I had been under had been broken.

After our little episode, we ate breakfast and began to pack our things to head back to our everyday lives. I thought of what I would have to do when I got home and although I dreaded the thought of facing my demons, I knew that was the only way I could give my heart away again. We started back for home just after lunch and the emotional rollercoaster that I experienced this morning took all of my energy. I was asleep in minutes.

I woke up many hours later and I recognized I was no longer in a car. I found myself in my bedroom of my home and there was only one person I thought could be responsible for this. Dimitri. I smiled at the thought of him and how careful he was with me. I really couldn't put my feelings for him into words at the moment. He was definitely the person I could see spending a lot more time with and building a lasting relationship. I sat up in the bed and looked towards the window to see that it was dark out. I stood and went to the bathroom to freshen up a bit and then headed towards the stairs. I stopped at the guest room that held the dreaded closet full of memories and opened the door. I knelt down as I had done before in front of the closet. I pulled over the scrapbooks that I had bought weeks ago and set them close to my side. I pulled the first box of items from the closed over to my lap and opened it.

I almost lost my resolve when I saw that the box contained pictures of Mase and I from our first years of dating. Some were of just Mase and me but others were of our whole group of friends. I sorted the pictures since I had been smart enough to write dates on the backs of them and started to place them into the first scrapbook. Some of the pictures captured some of our more laughable memories and others were of us just goofing off. One picture was from our senior prom and I almost burst into tears. I had always cherished this picture the most because I could make out the most features. He stared at me now with the beautiful boyish smile I adored and his eyes shone in happiness, full of life and love for me. I felt hot lines of liquid running from my eyes and I noticed that some of the tears had managed to fall on the picture I held. I was so absorbed with letting go of my past and studying these pictures of Mase that I hadn't realized there was someone standing in the door behind me until they approached me and wrapped their arms around me.

"It will get better Rose, I promise. He will always be in your heart and in these books. He told me once that as long as he was near you, that nothing could stop the joy in his heart." Eddie smiled sadly. "He is up there somewhere smiling at us now, watching over you and me you know? As long as he is in those books and in your heart, he is happy. He never wanted you to suffer this pain but it was beyond his control." I smiled a teary smile at Eddie and for the first time in forever, I realized that he was right and I had been a fool to mourn him for so long. I had been frozen in time over Mase's death. I never took the chance in those years to move forward but never moving back either. For a little over three years, I was stuck. I hadn't realized just how much my sadness and pain were affecting everyone else. Selfishly, I thought that I was the only one with the right to mourn him and I was very wrong. Mase would be kicking my ass right now if he were here.

"He loved each of us in his own way didn't he Eddie? He never met a stranger and with us, he was always smiling and happy. I guess… my happiness died with him, but bow I have another shot at happiness and I don't want to screw it up. I didn't even try to pull myself out of this rut until Dimitri came along and I let all of you guys down. My pain and anger over his death caused you all pain and I was too trapped in my own sorrows to see it. I owe each of you an apology." I stated to Eddie with tears still streaming down.

"No Rose. You were closer to Mase than all of us and I knew how hard you were taking his death. We all understood that you needed time to heal. Besides you, I was probably the closest to the both of you and I fully understood what you were feeling. I made sure that they understood and they agreed to give you the space you needed. There is absolutely no need to apologize." Eddie said and I looked up at him. I could see that this was painful for him too but he was right, I needed to just get my shit together and let him go as we all had to. I took a calming breath and looked up at him. Eddie was Mase's best friend and the three of us had been very close before Lissa and the others joined our group. He always knew what I needed and what needed to be said.

"I figured that you guys would have already went home by now. Where are the others?" I asked Eddie and he smiled but before he could answer, another voice did it for him.

"We couldn't just up and leave you without saying goodbye now could we?" I looked towards the door to see that all of my friends were standing there with a small sad smile. "Rose we won't let you go through this alone. We didn't before, so why would we start now?" Lissa said and I smiled at her. Towards the back of the group, I saw Dimitri standing there behind my friends giving me a small but encouraging smile.

"Thank you guys." I was about to say more but my stomach chose that moment to start sounding like a dying whale. I blushed bright crimson while the others laughed out loud.

"I guess I'll go and order us all some food." Mia said smirking and we all rolled our eyes playfully at her. I got up from the floor and we went downstairs to wait on the food.

Downstairs, we all waited for our dinner to arrive and we talked about various things. Finally we all agreed that tomorrow we would all start going through the pictures and organize them. We talked for a few more minutes until there was a knock on the door and Mia went to get it with Eddie helping her. Dimitri who had been pretty quiet until now decided to take the opportunity the interruption provided and ask how I was.

"How are you feeling Roza?" I loved how my name rolled off his tongue in that sexy accent of his and I wanted nothing more to have him right now, but I reigned myself in.

"I'm fine Dimitri. Sure it still hurts and it most likely always will, but I am trying to get things together and letting him go a little more each day." I said and he nodded in understanding before placing a firm but gently kiss on my lips. I was beginning to think that this glorious man beside me would be the death of me. I hadn't been with anyone since Mase and even though I was mourning those three years, a girl does have needs. Three years of abstinence and sexual frustration, plus the beautiful man in front of me were equaling an recipe for trouble. Was I ready to be intimate with someone? I wasn't sure about the answer to that yet.

**Okay I am really, really sorry that this update is so much later than usual but I had some difficulties in writing this and I am trying to determine how much longer I can carry this story. Have no fear, it will be completed, but I'm not sure how many chapters I wanted this story to be or where it would go. Please keep the reviews coming, they have been extremely helpful.**


	12. Surprise!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 12

Rose POV

Dinner was great and of course it was getting easier to talk to my friends again. I hadn't realized how far out of the loop I had been and was struggling to get back in. Everyone left after dinner and we all agreed that we would meet up tomorrow and work on what I fondly called 'project remembering Mase'. Dimitri was ever supportive and of course never pushed me for anything I wasn't emotionally ready for. He had taken up residence in my room after our return from the lake and I was finally content in my own skin. Since he came into my life, the nightmares and flashbacks of Mase and the accident slowly diminished and I was sleeping peacefully through the nights.

It took several days but we finally were able to compile all the pictures and cards into scrapbooks which were taken down to the living room and placed on the bookcase for all of my friends to have access to. I felt that it was only fair that those memories were available to them since most were made as a group rather than a couple. I finally got the closet in the spare room under control and had all of Mase's clothes (with the exception of an item or two for remembrance) taken from the house and given to charity. Once the closet was finally tackled, I managed to relocate some of the stockpile of clothing that Lissa had bought into the closet, freeing up the bedroom for its intended use. I thought I might feel like there was still a piece missing and void after this was finished, but was pleasantly surprised to have a feeling of acceptance and accomplishment once it was all over. Dimitri of course was my rock, along with the close group of friends. I was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I was happy for the first time in years with Dimitri.

A week and a half into the new year and I was happy and content with how my life turned out. Dimitri was still the constant companion and we were getting much more heated with our make out sessions. I still wondered just how long I could resist his charms. It wasn't like I didn't want him in that way, because trust me I REALLY did, but I also wanted to make sure that there was nothing stopping me when the time came to take that step. I still felt the sting of loss, but it was slowly healing. Dimitri just being here helped to heal my heart and soul every day. My group of friends were also a constant in my life now, coming over and spending hours just goofing off like we used to do. I finally realized how much I had really missed in the pain induced state of mourning I had surrounded myself with over the three years.

I decided that I wanted to do something with my life rather than spending it in this house, so I decided that I would go back to school like I had intended when Mase was alive. Again I felt a small pang of guilt for carrying on with our dreams as he was no longer here to enjoy them, but the guilty pangs and sadness were decreasing and getting easier to overlook and ignore. I started college classes and Dimitri decided that he would do the same in support. I also decided that I would slip in a language and naturally I chose Russian.

My dating life was great, college was going great as well. I had the support of everyone and I was the happiest I had ever been since Mase. I smiled more and gained back the weight that I had lost during my tough period in my life. I was finally happy and healthy (both physically and emotionally). Months had passed and thing were as normal as they could be. I had been warned however that Tasha had been released after serving the time allotted by the court and I felt slightly fearful that she would try to finish what she started all those months ago. I did the only thing I knew to do with my fear. I decided that I wasn't going to be a victim anymore and took self defense classes on days off from classes. Two more months and I was able to protect myself from most situations.

It was finally June and summer was upon us. Dimitri had a birthday coming up **(AN: I have no idea if this is in line with the VA series but just go with it.) **and I was holding back a big surprise for him. Classes were finally over for the summer and I decided to surprise him and take several steps in our relationship. I decided that it was time to dive into the relationship and we would finally give in to one another. It didn't take long for me to take this plunge after I decided. Dimitri had already lived with me so long and shared my bed, so why not go the extra mile? He was so sweet in his affections and kept asking me whether I was sure. I understood what he was doing, not wanting to push me, but he finally understood that this was what I wanted and I was ready. **(AN: Sorry guys no good with M Scenes so you just have to use your imaginations for this one.)**

Our first time was not like fireworks, more like dynamite. We loved each other slowly and showed just how much we needed to be with one another. After that, I was absolutely 100% sure that there was no way I could be denied when it came to intimacy with Dimitri. I really couldn't get enough of him and I think he shared the sentiment. His birthday was drawing ever closer and I actually had a little help from dad to get Dimitri's gift together and planned. I hoped that this didn't blow up in my face. The day of his birthday arrived and I had Ivan get Dimitri from the house so that we could set up some things. Dimitri had integrated into our group quite nicely and so had Ivan, even though Ivan wasn't quite interested in some of the same things we were, but he handled everything good naturedly.

Dimitri came home to a surprise party for his birthday and I swear I saw a slight blush creep onto his cheeks which naturally I had to bring to everyone's attention.

"Hold up guys. Is… is that a blush I see there on his cheek or am I going crazy?" I asked to no one in particular. I grinned as I heard Dimitri groan but he still wore a slight smile and just blushed harder.

"Rose you are not going crazy… you are already crazy." Christian smirked and let out a laugh. "But yeah he is a little rosie in the cheeks isn't he?" I shook my head, trying (but failing) to control my laughter.

"Never thought I would see the day, that the big bad Russian would actually blush." I said and we all, Dimitri included, burst into fits of laughter. Once we calmed our laughing fits, we moved on with the party, which was pretty much like any other but I had a surprise that my Russian would never see coming and would definitely never forget.

"Okay guys, it's time for presents." I said and happily sat beside him watching him open the presents from our friends. I saved mine for very last and once he was done with the others, I jumped up from my spot on the couch. "Your gift is upstairs so wait just a sec and I'll get it."

"God please Rose don't go all kinky on us will you two at least wait until we leave for that." Christian said and fake gagged while I laughed.

"Sorry to disappoint you Chris, but I don't share so that doesn't come till later." I said with a smirk and ran upstairs as the sounds of laughter dimmed. I got his gift and practically flew back downstairs to the living room. I sat myself down on his lap and handed him an envelope that contained his gift. He raised an eyebrow in question as he looked at the plain looking envelope and I laughed.

"Well go on, open it already. I promise you won't be disappointed." He smiled that full smile that I loved so much and opened the envelope with a gasp. He looked up at me with happy tears in his eyes and smiled widely before hugging me tightly to him. I had bought two airline tickets to visit his family in Russia. I could see that he was overjoyed and really was excited to see his family since he didn't have the opportunity to see them all that much. "You said that you never get much of a chance to see your family in Russia so I thought that this was the perfect gift to give you." I said.

"Oh Roza this is absolutely perfect and you are using the companion ticket to go with me and meet the family. They will love you just as much as I do." He said and I was admittedly a little apprehensive of meeting his family but I knew that Dimitri would never do something to hurt me. I resigned myself to doing whatever Dimitri felt was necessary and in this particular case, it was meeting his family. He kissed me with as much thanks and passion that he could muster while in front of others and we broke away smiling like fools.

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**Thanks guys for making this the most reviewed of ANY of my stories, but don't stop there guys. Keep 'em coming and R&R.**


	13. When in Russia

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**I know that this chapter is VERY late and I apologize. No Excuses, but here it is. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 13

Rose POV

Dimitri was absolutely thrilled with my gift just as I thought he would be. Since we were off from classes for the summer, Dimitri suggested that we would go for a visit sooner rather than later and I absolutely couldn't wait. Sure I was nervous about meeting his family, but the way Dimitri had talked about them made me feel like I already knew them. I was excited and we were soon packing our bags getting ready to head to the airport for our flight. Liss and Christian agreed to watch the house while we were away so there were no worries for me there. We drove to the airport concentrating on our happy conversations of what we would do when we arrived in Russia and Dimitri explained some things about his family and by the time our flight took off, I knew so much about his family that I felt like I had already met them. I was still very nervous of course but I smiled at the thought that our trip to Russia wasn't the only gift I would give him. Dimitri had no knowledge of my enrollment in a Russian language class and I felt confident that although I wasn't fluent in the language, that I would be able to understand and even carry on short conversations. I hadn't told Dimitri and I smiled at the thought of him using certain words at home and thinking that I had no idea what he meant. I almost laughed at the thought.

The flight was impossibly long and I slept through the majority of it, curled into my personal Russian god. After what seemed like forever, we finally landed in Omsk and got off the plane. I waited for our luggage while Dimitri went to secure a rental car to make the drive to Baia. I got the final piece of our luggage as he returned with the keys and the paperwork for our rental. We walked out to where the car was parked and Dimitri took over, placing the luggage in the trunk of the car. We left out of the airport and went to a small diner where we could have lunch before continuing to Baia. His mother had no idea that we were coming to visit them and that made me a little anxious. After a quick lunch and filling up the car, we made a bee line to his childhood home.

Several hours later, we arrived in Baia. I was amazed at this small community. I called it a community because there was no way this place was big enough to be classified as a town. It was quaint and had a feeling of closeness and security that I couldn't explain. I immediately fell in love with this place and it was beautiful. Dimitri maneuvered down the small roads that reminded me of the country roads that we had in the US. We finally pulled up in front of a small house near the edge of the community and Dimitri put the car in park, looking over to me with a huge smile and I could tell that he was remembering the days of his youth. I took his hand, bringing him out of his musings and we exited the car.

Dimitri left the bags in the car and escorted me with him to the door of the house. The house seemed small on the outside but I remembered that his sisters still lived here with his mother and grandmother. Closer inspection confirmed that the home was in fact much larger than I had first observed. Dimitri was still smiling as he knocked on the door. I held in a laugh as I heard a string of Russian coming from inside the home and I caught Dimitri as he chuckled at what he had heard. He looked over at me and shrugged, still holding the smile on his face. I had to smile internally when I realized that he still believed that I didn't know what was being said. The female voice grew closer and the door flew open. A woman I had appropriately identified as his mother looked at us but she wasn't really seeing me. She was completely focused on Dimitri and I was just fine with that for now. She flung herself at Dimitri and let loose a rapid string of Russian. There were tears in their eyes as they talked and hugged each other closely. I gave Dimitri the time to reconnect with his family and I smiled at some of the things they were saying to one another.

After some time with her long lost son, she turned to me and I smiled at her. She returned it of course and I could see that she had a very motherly air to her. She spoke rapidly in Russian to Dimitri while still focused on me. Oh this was going to be so much fun.

(**Let's just pretend that this conversation is in Russian.)**

"Dimitri is this the girl that you told me about over the phone those months ago?" She asked looking at Dimitri. Okay so when did he tell them about me?

"Yes mama. This is my very beautiful Roza." He introduced. God I love him so much and he didn't even know I could understand him right now.

"You know Dimitri it is a little rude to talk to someone to their face thinking they can't understand you." I said in perfect Russian and both of them widened their eyes and I held my smirk. I almost laughed at their expressions, but that really would be rude.

"Wait you understand and speak Russian?" Dimitri asked and I nodded with a smile. "Since when?" He was really confused at this.

"Since this is your other birthday present, planned months in advance, I took some classes in Russian when we enrolled at the university." I said and his confused face turned to a wide smile.

"Well why don't we go inside instead of standing here on the doorstep. The others are inside and probably anxious to know who was at the door." His mother said smiling and we both nodded.

We three walked into the house and made our way towards a small living room. There were several women in the room and they held many of the same features as Dimitri. I saw the three younger women gathered on the couch with a small boy who looked to be about ten, and one of the women cradled a small child in their arms. Another of the three was heavily pregnant and I smiled at all of them. An elderly looking woman in the corner of the room looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze. I locked eyes with her, refusing to cower under her gaze and after several minutes of scrutiny, she smiled a knowing smile. I smiled in return and once they all caught sight of Dimitri, they jumped up and greeted him. I stood out of the way so that he could be wisked away by the women and I smiled seeing Dimitri so happy and full of emotion. I was so concentrated on him that I didn't notice that his grandmother had come to stand beside me. I jumped a little in surprise as she started talking to me.

**(AN: Again this conversation is in Russian.)**

"You have given my grandson a very special gift. He is happier than I have ever seen." She said to me with a knowing look in her eyes. I smiled at her.

"I would do anything to make him happy. I knew that this would be his birthday wish and I would have moved heaven and earth to achieve this for him. He also didn't know that I learned Russian for many reasons. Some were my own selfish ones, but this was all meant to be so I could see him happy." I said truthfully and I was a little amazed at myself for telling so much in the first minutes of knowing her. She gave an indulgent smile and patted my shoulder comfortingly before speaking once again.

"You make him happy dear. I know that you have been through some rough things to deal with emotionally, but I can see that he is genuinely happy and loves you dearly." She said and walked back to her little corner and sat down. The others had calmed their greetings and they turned to me for introductions; His mother Olena, Grandmother Yeva and his three sisters Victoria, Karolina and Sonya. Karolina cradled a small girl in her arms while her son clung to her clothing tightly, hiding behind her. I smiled warmly and knelt down to his level and started to speak again in Russian.

"And who is this handsome young man?" I questioned never talking my eyes off him. He smiled shyly but retreated behind his mother.

"Roza, that is Karolina's son Paul, my nephew." Dimitri stated with a smile and came to stand beside me. "Paul she won't hurt you. Please come and say hello." Paul edged out cautiously from behind his mother and looked at me warily. I smiled kindly at him as he moved towards me and stood in front of me.

"Hello Paul. My name is Rose." I introduced and held out my hand.

"H-hello." He started and smiled shyly and looked away trying to hide his blush. I knew what the problem was then, he was bashful. "You're really pretty." He commented in a small voice and I laughed.

"Well thank you. You are very handsome yourself." I said smiling. Just like that the tension was broken and he laughed and played with me the rest of the evening. We talked about various things and they all welcomed me warmly. Dimitri went to get our bags and took them upstairs. I could see that they wanted to ask about my past and I wondered when if ever I would be comfortable being reminded of Mason. I didn't dwell on his death anymore but it still pained me to remember how close we were to happiness at the time of his death.

We ate dinner soon after and I fell in love with his mothers cooking. Once dinner was over, I tried to help Olena clean up but she shooed me out of the kitchen. When she was done and the children were settled into bed, we sat down in the living room and I told them about myself and the story of how we met. We had switched over to talking in English since they could see I was more comfortable with it.

"Dimitri and I were on our first date when Tasha decided to show up and harass us. I had known her most of my life but had only seen her a few times when she came to visit her nephew Christian. She, as you know, was pining for Dimitri. Later she made a scene and came to my home. I told her off and she did the same at Christmas. One night Dimitri left the house to pick up some things from his place and she busted down my door. We fought, well she fought and I was tossed like a rag doll, but I had managed to call 911 and keep the line open so they heard everything. She managed to stab me with a letter opener before the police arrived though." I finished and Dimitri held me tighter to him as I unconsciously rubbed the scar on my stomach that she left me with that night.

"Oh dear. I never liked that woman and she bothered me to no end. She is absolutely dreadful." Olena commented and I smiled.

"She is, but at least I managed to knock her out cold on one occasion." I said and they all laughed as I explained the events that occurred on Christmas Eve.

"Mason was my high school sweetheart and we practically grew up together. We were engaged and the wedding was supposed to be on Christmas Eve. Several days before the wedding there was a rehearsal dinner and the roads were icy. We were driving home when another car skidded through a red light and slammed into the car. We rolled several times and I only suffered minor injuries by some miracle. Mason fared much worse and died at the hospital that night." I said and I was finally able to tell that story with only a few tears. "This past Christmas was the first I had celebrated since his death and Tasha had to try and ruin it of course." I was still worried that she would show herself someday soon since she had been released. I wasn't really scared of her, but I was just tired of her pettiness and drama.

After moving on to lighter topics for a few minutes, the traveling and the time started to get to me. Dimitri noticed this and we excused ourselves to go to bed. I was surprised that we would be staying in Dimitri's old room, but I smiled slightly at this, picturing a happy childhood for him. I knew about his father and what he had to experience before he reached his happiness but Dimitri never dwelled on the negative. He of course was the motivator that made me focus on the positive aspects of my life. I crawled into bed that night beside my personal Russian god and smiled. No matter where I was, I was at home in his arms.

**Please R&R**


	14. Coming Home to Chaos

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 14

Rose POV

Russia was beautiful and being with Dimitri and his family added to the thrill for me. After staying for two weeks however, we knew that it was time for us to head home. A part of me wanted to stay here with his family while the other part of me missed my own family and friends at home. I knew that I would be home no matter where I was as long as I was in Dimitri's arms, but I did miss Lissa and my other friends dearly. We were packing up to head back home first thing in the morning. I had grown rather close to all of his family, especially Paul, who I thought had a little crush on me. It was really cute, but there was only one my heart belonged to and besides he was way too young. He was simply experiencing a crush that he would eventually grow out of.

I hated to say goodbye to them seeing as I had grown so close to them but we had to get back to our lives in the states. I of course missed Lissa the most but there were many things that needed to be done before we returned to classes in August. Dimitri and I said goodbye to his family and we promised that we would return as soon as we could. I had grown very fond of them in our time here and even grouchy old Yeva had warmed up to me. Dimitri and I finally pried ourselves away from them and headed to the airport to catch our flight back to the US. Our trip had been rather uneventful but we both relished in the calm and serenity that accompanied the visit to his childhood home. I would definitely miss the sense of peace that I had with his family.

It seemed that the flight felt much shorter going back to the states but at the moment I didn't care. I was with Dimitri and we had a wonderful time visiting his family and seeing the sights of Russia. It was like I had my own personal tour guide and we had a blast. I did manage to somehow sleep most of the plane ride back home curled into my personal Russian god and that was great as well. We finally arrived in the states and collected our luggage. We headed back to my home, well our home seeing as Dimitri had basically moved himself in, not that I minded that at all. I was comfortable in his presence and grateful that he and his family had accepted me for who I was; baggage from my past and all.

After what seemed like an eternity of driving, we finally made it home. We walked into our empty house and I was immediately aware that something was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something seemed out of place. Dimitri carried our things upstairs and I went to the kitchen for something to drink. I pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and close the door. Opening the bottle, I took a moment to look around and I noticed it. The back door was closed and locked but I noticed that there was a draft coming in. I moved towards the door and moved the curtain from the window pane of the door slightly to see that the glass had been broken. I was slightly scared but I felt better that Dimitri was right upstairs.

Dimitri POV

I had the time of my life with Roza and my family for the past few weeks but it was good to be home. When we got home Roza was tense, but I attributed that to exhaustion from our long trip home. I carried our things upstairs and place the suitcases on the bed and proceeded to unpack the things that we would most likely need first. We would unpack the rest after we had time to recoup from the long trip. I placed the toiletries in the bathroom and started to walk out of the room when something caught my eye. One of the scrapbooks that Roza prepared of Mason was here in the room and I knew that she hadn't placed it there. I walked towards the book that lay open on the dresser when I was suddenly struck from behind and everything went dark. My last thoughts before darkness took me were 'Roza'.

Rose POV

I heard a loud thud upstairs and I didn't know what to think about that. I was of course paranoid after the incident with Tasha so I went to the foyer table and reached below it. After the attack from Tasha, I had taken classes and the exam for a weapons permit. I pulled the strap that held the gun under the table and checked it. It was loaded just as it had been when I hid it there. I was now fueled with adrenaline and fear. Scenarios were running through my mind of the things that could be talking place. I was not so much scared for me, but for Dimitri.

I was alert and I focused on my surroundings which I knew like the back of my hand. I listened closely for any indication of an intruder and sent a quick text to Lissa. After Tasha attacked, we had come up with a plan in case anything like that happened again. I would send a code word to Lissa who would in turn alert the authorities in the event I was unable. I hoped that she had seen the text and followed our plan.

Lissa POV

I was sitting at our home waiting to hear from Rose. I knew that she was coming home today and I couldn't wait to see her. I had missed her. I ached to ask her about how her trip was even though she had contacted me several times. I fought with myself to stay home and give them time to be alone, but it was hard. I had gone by the house daily to check on things for her, especially since no one knew where Tasha was. I was curled into Christian watching a movie when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket indicating that there was a text. I looked at my phone and I swore my heart stopped. I read the one word text from Rose and jumped up, startling Christian in the process.

"Liss what's wrong?" He asked and I handed him the phone with the text from Rose opened and he looked at it. One word had disturbed the peace of Rose and our tight knit family.

_Mase_

I was already dialing the home phone as he read the text and I explained to the dispatcher the problem. They immediately sent someone to her home but I was still worried that they would be too late.

Rose POV

I moved through the house slowly and had deemed that the downstairs was completely empty. I kept my gun close to me like I had been instructed and moved upstairs. I didn't call for Dimitri because if someone was here, I didn't want them to know my location in the house. I searched the bedrooms one by one, keeping as silent as possible and cleared each of them until I reached the master bedroom. I knew that something was wrong for Dimitri not to have called for me by now and I feared for his safety more than my own. I pushed the door to the room open slowly, pushing it as far as it would go, hitting the wall with a soft thud and saw Dimitri lying in the floor. Everything in me wanted to rush to his side at that moment, but I couldn't. Someone was here and I had to take care of that first. I moved into the room and scanned it but saw nothing. I heard a rustling coming from the closet and headed towards it. Just as I reached for the door, it burst open and Tasha emerged. I fell to the floor from the impact and the gun I had held slid just under the bed and out of my reach.

"Well if it isn't the whore that is Rose." She sneered. Had I not seen her like this before, I wouldn't have recognized her as Christian's aunt. She was cold and ruthless which replaced the kind person that I had known before.

"Get the Hell out of my home Tasha. What is it that you hope to accomplish by doing this? It didn't work the last time, so why would it work now?" I said with as much venom as I could manage, which was surprisingly a lot. Tasha merely laughed cruelly.

"Oh Rose, you just don't get it do you? Dimka will be mine and to make sure of that, I will have to get rid of you." She said as she approached me. She grabbed me up by my shirt and pulled me to her. "Take one last look at him Rose, because it is the last you will see of him, or anything else." She said in my ear and I struck out. I kicked, effectively hitting her kneecap, causing her to stumble slightly and release me. I punched her jaw, smiling internally as I heard the tell tale cracking noise that followed, indicating her broken Jaw. She recovered quickly and lunged at me and I dodged, moving closer to the bed. She jumped for me again, managing to grip my arm tightly and throw me across the room and over the bed. I felt the blood in my mouth and running down my face as she started towards me. I ducked out of her next hit and managed to see the gun under the bed. I danced around, dodging her hits until the dizziness settled on me. She lunged a final time and we both ended up on the floor near the bed. She put her hands around my neck and I saw black spots as the lack of air and the dizziness combined. I reached out for the gun just under the bed. Thankfully she was too focused on my demise to notice what I was doing.

I gripped the gun tightly and in a swift motion that I never knew possible, I pointed the gun and fired it at her chest. Her eyes went wide for a brief second and slumped against me. Her body was above me, hands still gripped around my throat and I was able to pry them off as her body went limp. I gasped and coughed and sputtered. I had noticed that I was coughing blood but I welcomed the pain as I was finally able to breath after being completely deprived of oxygen. I crawled to the phone calling 911, who had already been alerted and were on their way. I used the last of my strength to crawl over to Dimitri and almost cried in joy as I felt a strong and constant pulse.

It was becoming harder to breath and my remaining energy was leaving me. I lay beside Dimitri and prayed that I would see him again as darkness surrounded me.

Officer Mikhail POV

911 dispatch gave me an address and said that the call was made by a friend of the resident. I did recognize the address as the one that we were called to some time ago. The woman that lived there had been attacked in her home and was alone. I remember thinking that she was strong to have survived that for one so young. I requested an ambulance just in case. I knew that her attacker had been released and I feared that the she had returned to finish the job. Investigator Petrov was riding with me today and we went to the location. Just as we arrived, dispatch said the resident had called and sounded like she was critically wounded. Petrov and I shared a look and entered the house with our guns drawn.

It was eerily quiet and I knew that something was wrong here. The downstairs was untouched at first glance but something caught my eye. The table in the foyer seemed odd and I noticed a strap hanging down. The resident had applied for a gun permit shortly after the previous incident and I feared to worst for the woman. We cleared the downstairs quickly and moved upstairs to the bedrooms. The master bedroom at the end of the hall was all that was left. My years in the force could never prepare me for what I saw when we entered.

"Oh my God." Petrov whispered as we lowered our guns. There were three people in the room. One was shot and I recognized her as the attacker in the previous incident. I checked for a pulse while Petrov went to the other two. The attacker was dead so I went to assist Petrov. I heard Petrov call through her radio to dispatch.

"Need Medical transport for two victims and body transport of suspect. One stable and one critical." She reported. Both were unconscious but the woman was in bad shape. The male appeared to be simply knocked out. I inspected the woman's injuries and was appalled at what I saw. Blood was coming from her mouth and a head wound. Her ribs appeared to be broken and I suspected a punctured lung. What caught my attention were the red and purple marks across her throat, indicating that the woman had managed to fight off her attacker while being nearly strangled to death. Her left wrist was broken and bruised were forming over most of her body. I hoped that the medical team would get here in time to save her.

**I know that there is a cliff hanger here but I couldnt resist. Thank you guys for reading and supporting this story. We will be wrapping up soon unfortunately so please continue to R&R.**


	15. Life is good

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**This is it guys. I hate it but all good things must one day come to an end and this is the last chapter that I will post for this story at least for now. I might find something to add later and I might not. For all practical purposes this is the final chapter. Love ya and please R&R.**

Chapter 15

Abe POV

I had expected to hear from my daughter by now. I knew that she and Dimitri were returning from Russia today and I was anxious to know how her trip went. Their trip to visit his family was just what my daughter needed after going through so much the last few months. I was worried about that foul woman coming back for her but I knew that my daughter was a strong individual. I was sitting in my office when my phone rang. I had hoped that it was Rosemarie but I was wrong.

"Hello." I answered.

"Hello. Is this Mr. Mazur?" The female voice asked.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" I inquired.

"This is investigator Petrov from the Billings PD and I was calling to inform you that there has been an incident involving your daughter Rose. She is being sent to Billings General for treatment of her injuries along with Mr. Belikov." She said and I think my poor heart stopped momentarily. I couldn't believe that she hadn't been home a day and was already suffering.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked.

"We won't know the exact details until one of them wakes up but it seems that the intruder was waiting for them when the returned home. Mr. Belikov was simply caught by surprise and knocked out but your daughter is in far worse condition I'm afraid. She did manage to kill the attacker but suffered severe injuries. We will know more once the doctors see her but so far it looks like she has a punctured lung, head wound and a broken wrist. She was also being strangled when she managed to kill her attacker." She explained and I felt nauseous at the revelation of my daughter's injuries.

"I will alert her mother and be there as soon as I can." I informed her and we hung up. I sighed heavily and called Janine while running out of my office. I explained to her what was going on and we were both racing to the hospital to be with our daughter. I only hoped that Rose would be able to pull through this.

Dimitri POV

I woke to the incessant beeping of a heart monitor and I vaguely wondered how I had managed to land myself in a hospital. I tried to think of how I could have managed it when the memories started to return to me and I feared for my Roza. I opened my eyes and she was nowhere to be found so I started to fear the worst. The door to my room opened and I was surprised to see Ivan walking over to my bed. I said the first thought that came to my mind.

"Roza? Where is Roza?" I asked almost frantically and I noticed the dryness of my throat. Ivan held a cup of water out to me and I took it greedily to cure the dry burn inside my throat.

"Dimitri, Rose was injured pretty bad man but she is stable now. The doctors had to repair a punctured lung and we almost lost her but she is doing much better now." Ivan said and I felt hot tears as I processed his words.

"What happened Ivan?" I asked and I really didn't know what happened besides being knocked out.

"Rose went in the kitchen while you were upstairs. She must have noticed the glass in the back door was broken so she grabbed her gun. I assume after you didn't come back down or call for her, she knew something was up. Apparently you were already knocked out when she and Tasha fought. Rose killed Tasha but she nearly died in the process. She barely had a pulse when the medics got to the house. Rose had enough forethought to sent the code word to Lissa and she called the police. Rose also managed to call them before she collapsed from her injuries and was unconscious when the police arrived." I was floored at this revelation. I knew that Roza had a permit for a gun but hadn't realized that she had one. I was overjoyed that she was alive after all of that but also saddened that I was out and not able to take care of the matter myself. I hadn't been friends with Tasha in a long time and I was somewhat glad that she was dead. She couldn't harm Roza anymore and for that I was grateful. I was just about to say something else when the door to my room opened and the doctor came in.

"Ah Mr. Belikov it is good to see you awake. You are in good shape and there is no evidence of a concussion so we will be able to release you very soon. I know that you would like to be with your girlfriend so we will get you out of here as soon as possible." The doctor said and I nodded in acceptance and thanked him. As the doctor left Ivan turned to me.

"Man I hate to say it but you are an idiot. Rose is perfect for you and so strong. Don't let her slip away from you. You need to marry that woman since we both know you want to make her your wife. I know that you are worried that it's too soon for her but trust me man, she feels the same about you." Ivan said and he was absolutely right. As soon as she recovered from this ordeal I would be making everything right.

Rose POV

I woke with a groan at the lights that hit my eyes. I shut them again tightly and I heard movement in the room. I didn't know who was in here until I heard Lissa speak.

"I turned the lights down Rose so they won't bother you. Everyone is here and Dimitri is just fine. He woke up a few days ago and went to the cafeteria for some food after we made him take a break." Lissa said and I had opened my eyes to see the room full of those that I loved more than my own life. Dad was sitting on my other side with mom and they both rubbed my arm soothingly, careful of the needle that was there. My left wrist started to throb and I noticed that it was casted. I went to talk but my throat felt closed off and I looked at Lissa in question.

"Don't try to speak Rose. You took a beating with Tasha and it will take some time to heal. She tried to kill you by strangling you so that is why your throat feels so raw and sore. I started to breath in deeper and winced at the pain in my lungs. Tears formed in my eyes as the pain increased. Dad stepped out to find the nurse to get something for my pain. I started to panic a little which made my breathing worse.

"Rose it's okay. Calm down and slow your breathing a little. You have some other injuries but you need to stay calm so as not to agrevate your lungs. If you are stressed and frantic the pain will only increase." I heard someone say and I tried to calm myself but I was still having trouble. I hadn't noticed but my mother had moved from my side and someone else replaced her but they didn't sit. They stood by my bed and stroked my hair the way that Mase had always done to help me stay calm. After I was calm, I looked over to see Eddie standing there with a sad smile. I loved Eddie like a brother and I was definitely grateful for Eddie to have remembered that and I smiled at him. He kissed my forehead and moved to the side of the room to give Dimitri room to approach, who had just entered the room.

Dimitri stayed while the others filed out. We didn't say anything, of course I couldn't at the moment. We just kept one another company. I relished in his presence until the nurse came and administered something for my pain and I slipped into darkness once again.

Dimitri POV

It was several days since I was released and I had stayed constantly beside my Roza. I remembered when I first saw her lying in that hospital bed and my heart broke for the beautiful woman that had endures so much at Tasha's hands. Her friends had finally managed to convince me to step away from the room and get some food. After I had finished the small meal I remembered that I hadn't contacted my family in Russia so I stepped outside and called the all to familiar number and mama answered soon after.

**(AN: Remember this is in Russian.)**

"Hello." Mama answered.

"Mama." I greeted.

"Oh hello Dimka. I was wondering when you would call us again. We have missed you both since you left. How are you and Roza?" She said and I sighed.

"This is the first opportunity I have had to call since we got home. Mama some things have happened here as soon as we got home. Roza and I were attacked in her home and Roza has yet to wake up." I said.

"Oh my Dimka. What happened?" she asked and I could hear my sisters in the background grilling her on what was going on. I asked her to gather the family and put me on speaker.

"I don't know all the details until Roza wakes up and is able to talk but from what I understand Tasha was in the house when we came home. I went upstairs and was knocked out. Roza knew something was off and came upstairs with her gun. She took some pretty hard hits and has some major injuries, but managed to shoot and kill Tasha while she was trying to strangle her. She had surgery to repair a punctured lung and had several broken ribs and her left wrist was broken. She had a head injury as well as the bruising around her neck." I finished. I swore I could hear someone crying on the other end of the line and I assumed it was mama.

"That poor girl had been through so much. Dimka I do hope that she recovers quickly. Please call us if there are any changes in her condition. Be safe Dimka and go back to your Roza." She said.

"I will mama. I love you all and I will talk to you soon." I said and we hung up shortly after. I walked back to the room and I could hear the monitor beeping frantically and then started to slow and calm. I entered the room and I saw that Eddie was by her side stroking her hair in a calming manner. I knew that Eddie looked at Rose like she was his little sister and I was thankful for his calming effect on her. She had tried to talk and it hurt her so she panicked, a natural reaction for someone in her state. I sat with her long after the nurse had given her medication and watched over her as she slept. If I had my way, this would be the last time that something so tragic would try and separate us. I wanted her by my side and happy forever.

xXO-OXx

Rose POV

It took absolutely forever to get to a point where I could speak without being in serious pain. I was helpless because if I exerted myself my breathing would increase thus causing pain. Talking caused me pain and seemingly everything else caused me some pain. Dimitri was my hero and the only thing that kept me from pulling out all of my hair in frustration. He was my constant companion and spent all of his time taking care of my needs. Well there was one need that was lost to me at the moment, but I planned to remedy that at the first given opportunity.

After about a month I was well on my way to being fully healed. I didn't have so much trouble breathing and had no more pain, but being in bed and resting for so long had my stamina very low. I still had stiffness and some soreness in my wrist, but that would be alleviated by building the strength back in my wrist over time. I finally convince Dimitri that I was ready for some extracurricular activities and he finally agreed. Let's face it. I was hooked on this man and the last month was like quitting cold turkey. I didn't have as much stamina as before but I took what I could get for now. I slowly recovered to full strength and we were finally happy with no dangers lurking in the shadows.

xXO-OXx

It has been a year since the incident and we were happier than ever. We had made another trip to visit his family and I was bouncing in my seat practically at the news I wanted so desperately to tell him. Dimitri was taking me out to dinner tonight and it would be the perfect setting to tell him my little secret. I was very happy and so were all of those that I considered friends and family. Lissa and Christian had found that they were having a baby about three months after the incident with Tasha and I was thrilled for her. Eddie and Mia had gotten married and to my surprise, Adrian was now engaged to Sydney. Two weeks ago, Liss had a beautiful little girl and we were all happy with our lives.

Dimitri had taken me to a fancy restaurant and I was happy and ready to move forward in our lives. Dimitri must have had the same idea. We were in the restaurant and talking happily when suddenly he stood and walked around the table. I froze as he knelt before me and the tears already started to form in my eyes.

"Rose, My Roza. I love you more that I can describe. You are a strong and selfless individual and any man would be crazy not to want to be in your life. I want you beside me for the rest of my life. Roza will you do me the honor of being my wife?" Dimitri said and I was speechless at his beautiful words and I knew he meant every one of them.

"Yes Dimitri I will be beside you for the rest of our lives as your wife. I have something else to tell you as well." I said. He slipped the ring on my finger and kissed my knuckles before standing and pulling me to him.

"What is it Roza?" He asked with slight apprehension. I smiled widely at him.

"Dimitri it won't be the two of us anymore, but the three of us." I paused to see if he could catch where I was going with this and his eyes widened a little and looked at me in question. "Yes Dimitri, we are having a baby." I said and I was immediately picked up and twirled in the air. I squealed in surprise and he placed me on my feet and kissed me with so much joy. In a rather un- Dimitri like gesture he grabbed my hand and turned to the whole restaurant.

"It appears that I am not only getting a fiancé tonight, but a child as well. We're having a baby!" he said and the whole restaurant exploded in applause and whistles while I blushed. Dimitri was wearing the biggest possible smile and it warmed my heart to see him so happy. We left the restaurant moments later as the restaurant manager told us that the meal was on the house. We arrived home in what I thought was record time and we opened the door to reveal all of our friends who were aware of Dimitri's announcement but not mine.

"This is the happiest day of my life yet." Dimitri whispered. "I will be happier still once we are officially a family and are husband and wife." He said and I loved the sound of that. We got the others gathered around us and decided to let them in on our secrets.

"Roza has agreed to be my wife but I was unaware of what she had to announce to me. Roza and I are not only engaged, but we are having a baby." He said and I swear I never hears so much girly screaming in my life. Mom and Dad were also there and everyone congratulated us on the news. We were all very happy with our lives and I couldn't wait to begin my life as Mrs. Belikov.

Eight months later I went into labor and we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. I did name him after Mase and we were even happier. Since I didn't want to look like a huge cow for our wedding, it would be soon after little Mason Cooper Belikov arrived. We planned the wedding to be simple since I didn't like the idea of so much fanfare. Frankly I would have been just fine with the courthouse wedding but try telling that to the party planner extraordinaire that was Lissa. Since I couldn't escape it we came to a compromise and managed a simple yet elegant affair. We got married soon after Mason was born and we decided against a real honeymoon. We stayed home for a few days after the wedding and them took an extended stay in Russia with Dimitri's family since they didn't have the funds to make it to the wedding. We had set it up where they could watch via live feed camera but it wasn't the same as seeing them in person and they had yet to meet little Mason.

I looked back on my life and I shivered at the thought of what would have come of me if I hadn't taken the chance to trust again. I still did miss Mase sometimes but I knew that was natural. I had come along way from the broken and depress woman that I had been when Dimitri found me. I was stronger now and I had two reasons to live now. I can't contemplate what might occur if I would lose either of the very important men in my life.

Dimitri had helped me out of the dark and carefully put my shattered and broken heart back together and I was eternally grateful for him. It just goes to show that you can always find your true love, even if you are mending a broken heart.


End file.
